Mental health experts in Georgia say federal spending cuts will weaken a program that trains ordinary people to provide "first aid" for a person experiencing a mental health crisis. The December 2012 Connecticut school massacre moved mental health issues up the agenda for the Obama administration and Congress. (Despite this Connecticut case, people with mental illness are generally not violent, experts say.) After the Sandy Hook shootings, Congress increased the budget of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, the federal agency whose job is to reduce the community impact of substance abuse and mental illness. In 2014's omnibus budget, Congress also set aside $15 million for a community based awareness program called Mental Health First Aid.
Innovative mental health program short on funds
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