OKPOLICY.ORG
“There’s a huge humanitarian issue here for people whose lives will seriously be lost due to suicide, due to opioid addiction, but also it’s an economic issue for the business communities, which they’re very concerned. For me, it’s a very harsh public safety issue. You’re going to see homelessness and crime rates increase when people don’t have access to services, and people are unemployed, and then the unemployment rate is going to go up, which is going to impact all these other core functions of government.”
– Melissa Baldwin, director of justice and policy for Mental Health Association Oklahoma, on the announcement that the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will initiate eliminating nearly all outpatient services in November if the Legislature doesn’t reach a budget deal by then. ODMHSAS reported the cuts will affect almost 189,000 people who are currently receiving outpatient services (Source)
