AHA-supported bill would expand access to post-disaster mental health resources

AHA today expressed support for the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act (H.R. 5703), bipartisan legislation that would expand the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) to communities affected by federal emergency declarations. The program works with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Mental Health Services to provide technical assistance and training for state and local mental health providers, and funds short-term counseling services and support through two grant programs.
 
“Under current law, eligibility for CCP services is extended only to areas with a major disaster declaration, and not to those affected by emergency declarations; this leaves many in need without assistance,” AHA said in a letter of support for the bill, sponsored by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Dina Titus, D-Nev.; David McKinley, R-W.Va.; and Peter Meijer, R-Mich.