“We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” As I recently read those words about one of the best singer-songwriters in my lifetime, I was struck by how many people are struggling with untreated mental illness across our great state and how many families have experienced a similar tragic loss of life. A loss that in many cases might have been prevented if they knew about the mental health supports that are available. Supports that I would like to focus on for this Month of Mental Health Awareness.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is pausing to observe National Fentanyl Awareness Day (May 10). The day is a remembrance of those lost to fentanyl poisoning and to raise awareness of resources and information to save lives.

Spring cleaning season is here, and people across Tennessee are preparing to clean out their medicine cabinets and safely and securely dispose of medications that are expired or no longer needed during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Take Back Day is this Saturday, April 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time.

TDMHSAS is publishing a series of twelve new videos highlighting individuals who work in Tennessee’s Recovery Courts. Tennessee has a total of 82 Recovery Courts which offer a rigorous program of treatment, testing, and therapy as an alternative to incarceration.

TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams has been named as Advisory Board Chair to the Council of State Governments Justice Center. In this role, Williams will leverage her extensive leadership, policy, and oversight experience to help guide the CSG Justice Center’s efforts to develop research-driven strategies to increase public safety and strengthen communities.

TDMHSAS has selected a total of ten programs across the state to receive $6.5 million in new funding to expand mental health services for children and youth. The new state funding was budgeted by Governor Bill Lee and appropriated by the Tennessee General Assembly in the TDMHSAS budget for state fiscal year 2022

TDMHSAS and TennCare today published the Public Behavioral Health Workforce Workgroup report. The document contains research, data, and strategies for addressing workforce challenges in publicly-funded mental health and substance use services, some of which have already translated into state budget requests proposed to Governor Bill Lee.

Tennessee’s State Opioid Treatment Authority and Chief Pharmacist for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is going to lend his talents to a national panel on addiction treatment for the next four years. Wes Geminn, PharmD. has accepted an appointment to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Treatment National Advisory Council.

The Tennessee Recovery Navigators are celebrating another successful year of delivering life-changing interventions for people living with addiction. TDMHSAS is releasing a new annual report which details the program’s successes despite a full year of pandemic-related restrictions.

Tennessee state leaders are encouraging Tennesseans to participate in the next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Take Back Day provides an opportunity for people to account for the prescription medications in their homes and safely and securely dispose of the medications they no longer need.

TDMHSAS) is urging everyone to take a moment to take a quick screening in honor of National Depression Screening Day: October 7, 2021. Free screenings are available on the TDMHSAS website through our partners at the Mental Health Association of America.

TDMHSAS is receiving federal funding to support the mental health needs of people who survived deadly flash flooding in August. More than $116,000 is coming to the state through the FEMA Crisis Counseling Program.

Tennesseans are pausing to remember International Overdose Awareness Day (August 31) after a year when sadly more people than ever died from a drug overdose. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Health, and community groups across the state are holding memorials, trainings, and awareness events to remember the lives lost, celebrate the survivors of overdose, and empower Tennesseans to prevent deadly overdoses in their communities.

TDMHSAS is expanding OnTrack TN, Tennessee’s First Episode Psychosis Initiative to three new counties. Funding for this expansion is coming from federal COVID-19 pandemic response grants.

TDMHSAS is receiving more than $53 million in additional funding from the federal government to address post-COVID mental health and substance use needs. The supplemental block grant funding will add more than $27 million to mental health services and nearly $26 million to substance use services over the next four years.