This column was originally featured on Newportri.com.
At Newport Mental Health, we’re more than a provider; we’re part of the fabric of this community. Last month, 1,775 people across Newport County turned to us as a lifeline. These are clients who live in our community – our neighbors – who rely on us every day.
Our team goes where others can’t. We show up on doorsteps and sidewalks. We deliver medication, give rides to critical appointments and food pantries, and we sit beside someone struggling to make it through another day. Even during the pandemic, while the world shut down, NMH staff stayed out there, red personal protective equipment bags in hand, because our community needed us. And it still does.
It takes grit, compassion, and deep commitment to show up day after day. We want the 83,468 individuals who live in Newport County to know that you can continue to rely on us.
The Emotional and Systemic Toll
We care for people across their entire lifespans. For some clients, a member of our team may be the last person they see before they pass. This reality weighs heavily on our staff, and we fear it will happen more often.
Rhode Island is seeing high rates of youth suicide, overdose deaths, and significantly reduced life expectancy among people with behavioral health conditions. A recent global study showed that behavioral health challenges can shorten life expectancy by 10–25 years. Substance use disorders top the list, with an average of 20 years of potential life lost.
Funding cuts to harm reduction programs will worsen this crisis. When people with substance use disorders don’t get support, they get sicker and are more likely to end up in the hospital, ICU, or worse. And the financial costs for rescue, hospitalization, and police will rise as well.
These cuts are coming despite clear evidence that harm reduction works. In 2024, the CDC reported a dramatic 27% drop in overdose deaths, directly linked to harm reduction strategies. These programs save lives by giving people a chance to live long enough to accept help.
Even before the recent federal cuts, the behavioral health workforce was under severe strain. Demand for services has skyrocketed post-pandemic, but with an aging workforce and not enough new behavioral health professionals entering the field, behavioral health organizations simply don’t have enough providers to meet the current need. We’re asking more and more of a smaller group of deeply dedicated people.
As we face the future, I want to sincerely honor and thank our dedicated staff for their spirit and resilience amidst countless barriers. Their commitment, compassion, and determination continue to shine through even in the face of challenges, demonstrating the true heart of our mission. This perseverance not only sustains our organization but also brings hope and healing to those we serve.
And Still, We Show Up
We do this work because it’s an act of love. But here’s the hard truth: much of it isn’t reimbursed and goes unfounded. It’s the support of our community that makes this work. The breadth of services we provide is not sustainable under the current funding structure, and with upcoming changes to Medicaid and federal funding, things are about to get even harder.
Yet still, we show up.
Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (IICAPS), a Medicaid-covered program we launched nine months ago, is one example of how critical this work is. It’s already saving lives.
Evan Davis, one of the first therapists hired for IICAPS, describes working with a teen expressing the desire to end their life. “We worked with the family to help them understand and respond to the teen’s struggles,” he says. “And we worked with the teen to learn how to cope and build resilience.” Through family therapy, everyone ended up in a much better place and they avoided hospitalization and school disruption, which is critical.
Unfunded, Unsustainable—and Essential
We care for our staff with training, support, and walking with them through the difficult and meaningful work we do. We build in structural supports to spread the workload, reduce stress, and help prevent burnout.
Mobile crisis units and care coordination are among the most powerful tools we have to reduce clinical staff turnover and improve continuity of care. Hiring staff in community-based care coordinator roles means proactive communication and planning takes place across providers, ensuring no one falls through the cracks. The care coordinator, whether it be a nurse, a clinician or a case manager, reduces stress and helps clients access services consistently, avoiding crisis situations and reducing setbacks so clinical staff can help the client focus on improving their health and behavioral health outcomes.
We currently operate multiple mobile teams. We have specialty mobile crisis teams addressing homelessness, overdose and substance use, behavioral health, and medical health coordination and engagement. None of these programs are fully funded and we are in constant search for sustainable models to ensure our safety net in Newport County.
For example, the RIO (Rhode Island Outreach) teams work on the streets, helping vulnerable individuals connect to services before they reach a crisis point. They use peer support to build trust and create a bridge into care, without requiring a clinical visit. The expense of these programs is less than a quarter of what it would cost if all of these folks went to the Emergency Department or a hospital for services. Yet we had to reduce the team by 5 staff due to funding changes. Just when we need it the most, when we should be building this resource, we have no choice but to reduce it.
How Outreach Saves Lives: A RIO Success Story
RIO Director Partaja Spann shared the story of a client who, like many facing homelessness, was in shock and deeply traumatized. At first, they resisted help. “We build trust through peer support. Many of our team members have lived experience, so we know how to connect,” says Spann.
The first step was helping them when they were living in their car. Over time, trust grew. That trust led to them accepting help and eventually securing stable housing through a grant program.
“The transformation when someone moves into stable housing is incredible,” Spann reflects.
Here’s How You Can Help
A healthier Rhode Island begins with a healthy behavioral health workforce. And that requires community support.
You can help in powerful ways:
• Advocate at the state and federal levels for consistent funding for CCBHCs and Medicaid.
• Donate to our Annual Fund, which supports critical, unreimbursed programs that save lives every day.
• Support Newport Hospital’s Emergency Department.
• Promote the development of affordable housing.
• Discourage arrests as a solution to homelessness. Instead, call our crisis line or 988. Arresting someone doesn’t change their situation—they’ll still be unhoused when they’re released.
• Get involved. Newport Mental Health is meeting with concerned neighbors in the Broadway area of Newport who are stepping up to help support the unhoused. Ask us how you can help and how we can help you.
Every solution starts with a conversation —and grows from there.
We Believe in Our Community
Newport County is a special place. People choose to work here because the community is insightful, inclusive, and committed to equity in behavioral healthcare.
With your support, we can build something stronger. We can fight for a system that values evidenced-based care for behavioral health. We can keep showing up for our neighbors, our workforce, and our future.