Advocates say fighting crime in New Mexico requires addressing the mental health crisis.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As the Legislature adjourned Thursday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she was frustrated because several public safety bills failed to pass.
But leaders who support some of the most vulnerable New Mexicans feel the same way, arguing that the public safety law would not be needed if lawmakers addressed the underlying problems.
“If you compare it to last year’s Congress, where there were dozens of bills that focused on mental illness, this year we probably had about 10 bills that tried to address that,” said the director of the local chapter of Congress. Brandon Estrada said. National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Estrada said that when she tries to make an appointment for mental health treatment, she can wait six months or even a year.
“Six months can mean the difference between life and death if you don’t receive timely treatment,” Estrada said.
Estrada said there were some successes this Congress, including bills focused on education and mental health awareness and a bill to expand Medicaid reimbursement, but nothing that would have a lasting impact. said.
“If we can address behavioral health and mental illness, we can probably address about 99 percent of society’s problems, including crime and violence,” Estrada said.
David Burke, director of facilities and programming at Serenity Mesa Youth Recovery Center, agrees. It provides inpatient treatment and housing for people between the ages of 14 and 21.
“I think we had a huge surplus this year, and we had an opportunity to make real change in the mental health and substance abuse space, and that didn’t happen,” Burke said.
Burke said the crime problem cannot be solved without supporting mental health resources.
“If the governor is going to call a special legislative session, it should be about mental health,” Burke said. “We have to deal with the dirty, nitty-gritty stuff that we don’t want to deal with.”
