Mississippi will receive over $20.5 million of federal funding to address mental health and substance abuse problems.
Announced by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, the state will receive $12,938,191 in Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG) funding and $7,556,583 in Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) funding.
“There is clear evidence that stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in a serious uptick in mental health and substance abuse cases. These problems will not end with the pandemic, but could endure for years. These grants will allow the state to improve its ability to address these issues,” Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee that funds federal health programs said.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, approved the grants, which are funded through the COVID-19 supplemental appropriations enacted by Congress last December.
The SABG funds will support planning, implementation, and evaluation activities that promote public health, and prevent and treat substance abuse.
The MHBG grant provides comprehensive, community-based mental health services to adults with serious mental illnesses and to children with serious emotional disturbances. It will also be used to monitor progress in implementing a comprehensive, community-based mental health system.
