Lawmakers hope to bring more funding to Virginia mental health facilities

Money from the American Rescue Plan could help provide funding to bring more staff into Virginia’s mental health facilities.

Governor Northam said he is proposing funds to go to providing higher salaries and hire critical positions. Right now, five of the eight statewide institutions in Virginia are not accepting patients because of staffing shortages.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine said more can be done to address the problem.

“We don’t have a surplus of mental health facilities in this country,” he said. “We have a shortage. Pre-pandemic we didn’t have enough mental health treatment and prevention in this country and post-pandemic the needs are going to be greater still.”

Kaine said he hopes to see more discussions on how to address the needs of those struggling with mental health.