The national conversation about mental health policy is at a critical moment. Across the United States, proposed federal budget cuts and policy changes threaten access to the community-based services that help people build meaningful lives beyond psychiatric hospitals and the criminal legal system.
The Power Coalition, co-led by longtime mental health advocate and former SAMHSA senior official Paolo del Vecchio, has launched a national petition calling on Congress to protect recovery-oriented mental health and substance use services. The petition urges lawmakers to invest in community supports rather than expanding coercive and institutional approaches that have repeatedly failed to improve outcomes.
The petition comes in response to proposed cuts to Medicaid, reductions in funding for behavioral health services, threats to federal agencies including SAMHSA, and policy proposals that would increase reliance on long-term institutionalization while reducing investment in evidence-based community supports such as peer services, Housing First, and harm reduction.
At ISPS-US, we have long advocated for psychological and social approaches that recognize recovery as a deeply personal process supported through relationships, housing, meaningful occupation, access to care, and strong communities. Research consistently demonstrates that social conditions, trauma-informed care, and access to voluntary, community-based supports play a central role in recovery. History also reminds us of the profound harms associated with long-term institutional care, including isolation, loss of autonomy, and widespread neglect.
People experiencing mental health challenges deserve access to compassionate, person-centered services that uphold dignity, choice, and human rights. Rather than returning to policies rooted in coercion and segregation, we should be investing in the supports that enable people to live, recover, and participate fully in their communities.
If you share this vision, we encourage you to learn more about the Power Coalition's campaign and consider adding your name to the petition calling on Congress to:
- Fund community-based mental health and substance use services, including recovery support services, Housing First, and harm reduction initiatives.
- Preserve key federal behavioral health agencies, including SAMHSA, and the workforce needed to support them.
- Oppose the expansion of long-term institutionalization and coercive approaches to mental health care.
Recovery happens in community. By supporting policies that expand access to voluntary, recovery-oriented services, we can help build a mental health system grounded in hope, inclusion, and respect for human rights.
Sign the petition and learn more about the campaign through the Power Coalition.
