Image by Dan Myers.

For the past seven years, I’ve served as a case manager and/or therapist at Tri County Community Services and presently through TeamBuilders Behavioral Health in Taos, New Mexico. In this capacity, I’ve witnessed the hardships of some of Taos’s most vulnerable and fragile community members and done my best to support them. It’s devastating to see the Trump administration weaken and dismantle various government programs that so many of my clients rely on to survive, both with their daily struggles and long-term stability.

There exists a gross misperception that local mental health agencies and churches will take care of those people with mental health issues or disabilities. Taos is blessed to have multiple human service agencies, but they all have limited funds, space, personnel and resources. A few churches provide weekly food banks, will cover a single utility bill, or give free clothing. These gestures, while helpful and authentic, are paltry in contrast with the extremely challenging, occasionally dire, circumstances some of these people face. Many of my clients receive SSI, SSDI, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, EBT (food stamps), Public Housing or Section 8 housing. These are a critical safety net in many cases, and not easy to come by.

It’s disturbing that so many of these programs are under attack, meanwhile Trump has proposed the largest military budget request ($1.01 trillion) of any president; he plans to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy, and he has raised tariffs, which will only increase the cost of formerly cheap imports that lower-income people buy.

The burgeoning homeless epidemic and mental health crisis in our country really began in the 1980s with Reagan and “trickle-down” economics. Ever since, the already wealthy have gotten richer.

© CounterPunch