RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced he wants to commit hundreds of millions more to bolster Virginia's mental health system and address substance use disorders.
Youngkin laid out a three-year plan on Wednesday, starting with new funding that he'll propose in his upcoming budget amendment.
"Over $230 million in additional investment in pre-crisis prevention services, crisis care and post-crisis recovery and support," Youngkin said.
Youngkin said it's based on six pillars, including same-day care, creating more capacity and bolstering the workforce in that area.
"This is a giant step in that multi-step process," Youngkin said.
Among the funding initiatives are increasing the number of mobile crisis teams, more mental health support for children and students and fighting fentanyl.
"I like what I see. I'm waiting for more details," Virginia Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-25) said.
Deeds said there's potential but staffing and funding are key and adds the plan relies too much on one-time funding.
"We've got to make a steady investment. Mental health services have been chronically underfunded in Virginia for hundreds of millions of dollars for a long, long time," Deeds said.
Also praising what they see so far is Elizabeth Hilscher, whose daughter was killed in the Virginia Tech shootings.
"I think we can get there, where we don't have to have such a heavy load in crisis response, because we will have a system that can create a safety net for people early on," Hilscher said.
However, she adds that sensible gun laws are needed in conjunction with this plan, something that wasn't mentioned by Youngkin, despite bringing up recent mass shootings in Virginia.
"Keeping people who are potentially a harm to themselves or others away from easy access to weapons," Hilscher said.
