TDMHSAS has secured an additional $7.2 million in federal grant funding to respond to mental health and addiction concerns caused by COVID-19 and recent natural disasters.

Two of Tennessee’s four Regional Mental Health Institutes (RMHIs) are getting new Chief Executive Officers. Josh Carter is the new CEO at Western Mental Health Institute in Bolivar, and Jeff Coons is the new CEO at Memphis Mental Health Institute.

TDMHSAS is expanding its School-Based Behavioral Health Liaison program to all 95 counties in the state. Governor Bill Lee budgeted and the Tennessee General Assembly appropriated an increase of $3 million for the current fiscal year to expand the program.

TDMHSAS and its community mental health provider partners are excited to expand the state’s Behavioral Health Safety Net to uninsured children. The program offers an array of essential mental health services for uninsured Tennessee children age three to 17.

The Tennessee Recovery Navigators are celebrating two successful years of connecting people who come into emergency rooms with treatment for substance use disorder. Navigators are people with lived experience of addiction and at least two years in recovery who are able to use their history to relate to the patients they meet.

Tennesseans are pausing this last day of August with people around the world to remember, reflect, and recover from the effects of overdose.

TDMHSAS is receiving almost $1,000,000 from the federal government to support the mental health needs of Tennesseans living through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tennessee’s healthcare workers and first responders who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response have a new resource to reach out to about feelings of stress, anxiety, sadness, or depression related to work. The COVID-19 Emotional Support Line for healthcare workers is available to call at 888-642-7886.

TDMHSAS has been awarded $200,000 to recruit physicians to the state’s four Regional Mental Health Institutes. The funding is from the Tennessee Center for Health Workforce Development (TCWD), a subsidiary of the Tennessee Hospital Association.

As the calendar turns to May, our awareness month for mental health arrives with new emphasis. It is true that we all have mental health, and as our normal has been upended over the last two months, we all have become keenly aware of that.

TDMHSAS is receiving a $2 million federal grant to provide additional services in response to COVID-19 over the next 16 months. The funding will be used to bolster the state’s existing crisis services continuum, Behavioral Health Safety Net, and substance abuse treatment and recovery services.

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, TDMHSAS is sharing public service announcements with broadcasters to increase awareness of its Statewide Crisis Line.

If you saw a relative, a friend, or even a stranger choking, you wouldn’t hesitate to try to help. There might even be a crowd of people trying to help all at the same time. Our response to suicide prevention can be the same! If more of us are trained to see the warning signs, effectively respond, and connect the person with professional care, we can save lives.

TDMHSAS is receiving a $10 million federal grant to take behavioral services to the rural Tennesseans who need them the most. The funding will be spread over five years and will fund a pair of mobile health clinics to address the behavioral health and physical health needs of residents in ten rural Tennessee Counties.

I write to you at a time of great challenge for our state and local communities. Countless individuals have contacted me to express feelings of fear, anxiety, and stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While we do not possess all the answers about the COVID-19 crisis, I am writing to offer suggestions that I hope will be instructive and empowering in the midst of such uncertainty. Pat Summitt, the acclaimed Lady Volunteers coach, would no doubt give us a legendary pep talk if alive today. That pep talk might start with a quote of hers: "Attitude is a choice. Think positive thoughts daily. Believe in yourself."