The Sacramento Bee, Letters to the Editor: Critical Funding Needed

Critical Funding Needed

“How Newsom wants to fill ‘Trump slump’ fueled $12B deficit,” (sacbee.com, May 14)

With annual state funding, the California Peer-Run Warm Line has been providing free emotional support to residents statewide 24/7 via phone, text, or chat since 2019. Its success has enabled more growth: the CalHOPE and Spanish Warm Lines. March and April each saw nearly 40,000 contacts — about double their monthly average.

Why would we give up on such a vital resource seeing skyrocketing demand? The cuts in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May Revise are so severe that we would only be able to answer about 5% of requests for help, leaving tens of thousands to suffer in silence. We wouldn’t be able to stay open.

We urge the Legislature to prioritize mental health and to fully fund the warm lines. Such investments often prevent people from going into crisis, which requires more expensive treatment.
— Mark Salazar, Mental Health Association of San Francisco