Rep. Sykes Urges the Passage of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act; Includes Rep. Sykes Mental Health Improvement Act
Watch: Rep. Sykes speaks on the House floor to urge her colleagues to support the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Sykes urged the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, a bill that would authorize hundreds of millions of dollars to improve access to critical mental health services. This essential bill includes Rep. Sykes’ bipartisan Mental Health Improvement Act. The Mental Health Improvement Act would extend the authorization for the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program, which provides tens of millions of dollars annually to increase the number of behavioral health professionals and improve access to behavioral health services.
“More than one in five adults in the United States lives with a mental illness. These are our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our family members, and for many of us, this issue is deeply personal,” said Rep. Sykes. “Extending authorization for The Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program ensures our communities have access to quality mental health resources needed to address addiction, reduce suicide, and guarantee more Americans get the care they need, when they need it .”
The BHWET Program awards grants to eligible universities and state-licensed mental health nonprofit and for-profit organizations to recruit and train the next generation of behavioral health workers. The Mental Health Improvement Act would extend the funding authorization for the BHWET Program until 2030.
Local organizations in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District already benefit from the investments made possible by the BHWET Program. In 2021, Walsh University received $479,721 from the BHWET Program to establish the Walsh University Counselors and Occupational Therapists Professionally Engaged (COPE) in the Community program. The program enhances the community’s capacity to provide high quality experiential training of students in innovative care settings serving high-need populations in high-demand areas, including purchasing equipment and supplies for use in behavioral/ mental healthcare services at various nonprofit centers in Ohio, and providing free occupational therapy (OT) services for women through Rahab Ministries and the YWCA.
Rep. Sykes remains committed to expanding access to mental health services available for the people of Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, even in the face of ongoing attacks on these services by the Trump administration. While the demand for mental health services continues to grow, the Trump administration has fired hundreds of federal workers responsible for implementing programs such as the BHWET Program. Despite these setbacks, Rep. Sykes encourages bipartisan cooperation to advance the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act.
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