“Stability in funding is not a luxury — it is a necessity. Lives depend on it.”
Karin Jeffers wrote that statement after receiving multiple letters from the federal government at 10 p.m. on Jan. 13, informing her that some $1.5 million had been cut from Clinical & Support Options (CSO), the Northampton-based behavioral health organization that employs 580 people who serve 21,000 people in western and central Massachusetts.
That cut was a piece of nearly $2 billion that the Trump administration pulled from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants, money that funds 128,000 programs across the country. Ultimately, the cuts have been reversed, much to the relief of Jeffers and other behavioral health specialists nationwide who received similar letters.
But the reversal has left many like Jeffers questioning the stability of their funding in the future, and has shown them just how detrimental it would be to their services if the funding cuts were permanent. CSO, providing services across the four counties of western Massachusetts and in the central part of the state, supports people who are experiencing homelessness, children who have experienced traumatic events and those recovering from addiction, among other services.
“It really calls into question what the priorities and the decision-making is at the federal level for mental health and substance programs,” said Jeffers, CSO’s president and CEO, referring to the four SAMHSA grants that fund $2.2 million a year in services.
The message CSO received came from SAMHSA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 13, informing them that one of their grants was going to be cut, according to Jeffers. She said within the next hour, CSO was notified that two additional grants were cut. A fourth grant was not threatened.
If the cuts were not taken back, it would have meant a loss of $1.5 million and a substantial loss in services. “My initial response was obviously disappointment, a bit of surprise and shock that it happened in the same day,” Jeffers said. “With the state of federal funding right now, I guess it’s not total shock.”
When headlines and word of mouth started to spread, Jeffers said it became clear it was not just CSO that had been hit. By 7 the next morning, she started seeing reports that all the SAMHSA cuts were going to be taken back.
Jeffers said the letters were written in “generic form” and the reasoning that was listed for the cut is that CSO’s programming funded through the SAMHSA grant “did not align with SAMHSA priorities.”
Jeffers said one of those priorities listed in the letter is “to prevent homelessness.” The grant that was originally going to be cut provides funding to support individuals experiencing homelessness.
Funding would have also been cut from programs that support children and families who have experienced trauma, mental health awareness training for community members and first responders, and opioid treatment and recovery support.
While ServiceNet, another large Northampton-based nonprofit that serves vulnerable populations throughout the region in part with federal funding, did not receive a letter similar to CSO’s, officials were spooked at the news nonetheless.
“These services really provide for the most vulnerable in our communities,” said Elaine Campbell, the senior vice president of clinical services at ServiceNet. “People dealing with substance use issues, homelessness, mental health illness.”
Campbell said ServiceNet officials started envisioning what they would do if its SAMHSA grant — that equates to $1 million — was cut.
“We certainly were on pins and needles thinking we may be next,” Campbell said.
Campbell said ServiceNet has 10 mental health clinics in the Pioneer Valley, including River Valley Counseling services, one of which is largely funded through their grant.
She said even though they did not get a message like CSO, ServiceNet started getting calls from multiple other behavioral health organizations, asking if others were getting hit. “It certainly sent shockwaves through all behavioral health services in the valley.”
“Theoretically we’re competitors,” Campbell said about behavioral health organizations. “But in reality, we’re working together to serve our community.”
If ServiceNet’s grant should ever be on the chopping block, Campbell said the organization would have to undergo a whole budget reorganization. She said it’s unclear whether that would come from staff or services, but it would certainly be impactful.
“All of our programs are on very slim margins,” she said.
Campbell said one of the reasons federal funding is so substantial to behavioral health organizations is because the state does not provide a “safety net” for them if federal cash is lost, like they do for hospitals.
For Campbell, this scare is another moment of questioning the security of ServiceNet’s funding when President Donald Trump took office last year. Looking back to the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Campbell said leaders of organizations dependent on federal funding began asking, “Could that be us?”
“I think people really need to be aware to how important our community health centers are,” Campbell said.
Jeffers serves on the board of directors of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, overseeing Region 1, which consists of many New England states. Like Campbell, she doesn’t know if the state would step in and provide a safety net because of pending Medicaid cuts and that Massachusetts is running on its own tight margins.
“When federal funds are cut like this, there is no backup plan,” Jeffers said.
Campbell said she has been advocating for years to have the state set up reserve funds for community behavioral health centers.
When making the pitch to state representatives, requesting they bring the idea to Beacon Hill, Campbell said she asks a question many representatives struggle to answer, “Tell me one issue you deal with that doesn’t have to do with mental and behavioral health?”
“Everything, every way we function in the world,” Campbell said, “has to do with mental health.”
Material from the Associated Press was used in this article.