Mental health advocates in Maryland are fighting against a proposed $116 million reduction in state funding, warning that it will exacerbate existing mental health challenges, particularly in relation to suicide prevention and school-based behavioral health services.
During a rally in Annapolis on Tuesday, supporters urged state lawmakers to restore the funds cut from Governor Wes Moore’s proposed 2026 budget. The cuts come at a time when youth mental health needs are increasing, with recent data from the state’s youth behavior survey revealing that nearly 30% of high school students report feeling persistently sad or hopeless, and one in five middle school students have made a suicide plan.
State Delegate Jessica Feldman, representing Howard County, emphasized the financial consequences of these cuts. “Even if the compassion argument is not compelling to you, there’s an important fiscal argument here,” she said. “These cuts do not save us money. They end up costing us more in emergency room expenses, law enforcement expenses, and prolonged treatment costs if people can’t get the help they need at the right time.”
Gus Hughes, a member of the Baltimore chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, shared his personal experience of relying on the 988 crisis line last May while homeless. He said the service helped him access critical mental health resources, potentially saving his life. “Without that counselor being there to talk me out of the crisis I was in… I probably wouldn’t be here,” Hughes said at the rally.
Governor Moore’s proposed budget omits $25 million in funding for Maryland’s eight 988 centers, funding that was expected from a bill passed by lawmakers last year. Michelle Grigsby-Hackett, CEO of Affiliated Sante Group, which operates one of these centers, warned that the funding shortfall would lead to longer response times and a reduced ability to provide adequate care. “The calls will go unanswered or have significant delays being answered,” she said. “Emergency departments will continue to be overwhelmed, and Marylanders will begin turning to 911 to get help for their mental health crises.”
Grigsby-Hackett noted that calls to 988 centers had increased by 30% in the last year, with text messages nearly doubling, making the proposed funding cuts even more concerning.
The governor’s budget proposal also includes a $90 million reduction in funding for the Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, which provides in-school behavioral health services. Advocates argue that this will significantly impact the program, which has already served approximately 58,000 students in just the past six months. Under the proposed budget, funding for these services would drop from $130 million to $40 million annually through 2030.
“There will be no place for them to turn for help,” said Adrienne Breidenstine, vice president of policy and communications for Behavioral Health System Baltimore. Advocates have fought for decades to establish such services in schools, and this proposed cut threatens to undo much of that progress.
