Since 1949, the month of May has been duly designated as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. It’s a much-needed 31-day span set aside to mobilize resources and publicize efforts to raise public awareness about mental health and wellness, reduce stigma and promote support for those affected by mental health conditions.

Over those same seven decades, great strides have been achieved in attitude adjustments among most Americans. No longer do many of us perceive those afflicted with anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies or bipolar disorders as dangerous, violent or unable to control themselves nor do we view mental illness as an untreatable or unrecoverable medical condition. Sadly enough, such was the status quo when Mental Health Awareness Month was first observed.

Despite such progress, however, the battle for fair and equitable treatment and care for mentally ill Americans remains far from over. Moving forward, not only must increased awareness continue to be built to lessen stigmas and promote proper comprehensive treatment, concrete action must also be a paramount priority.

In that arena, Ohio and the Mahoning Valley are leading the way.

Statewide, Gov. Mike DeWine has long been an advocate for proper care and therapy for those suffering debilitating mental health disorders. The most recent proof of that commitment lies in the governor’s fiscal 2026-27 budget proposal for the state.

In it, he proposes opening more state psychiatric hospitals, expanding mobile crisis services and continuing funding of Ohio’s 988 crisis and suicide hotline, which DeWine said receives about 18,000 calls, texts and chats each month.

“This budget continues to expand our commitment to increase access to mental health services directly in our communities, building the system of care that was promised beginning in the 1960s,” DeWine said.

Unfortunately, penny-wise and pound-foolish legislators in the Ohio House of Representatives made significant cuts to the governor’s proposal, including a $31 million reduction over the biennium in funding to support and expand the critical 988 crisis line, which has proved to be effective in de-escalating tensions to the point where no further — and costly — treatment is needed. Additionally, it whacked off $79 million in DeWine’s proposal for the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

State senators currently working on their draft of the budget should not think twice about restoring the governor’s full funding proposals for all facets of mental health care.

In the Valley, county boards of mental health and recovery have made great strides as well in recent years in implementing programs and expanding resources to attack the scourge of opioid addiction and its byproduct of senseless overdose deaths. Those deaths have fallen significantly in the past couple of years.

We are particularly pleased with a new and innovative project in Boardman to service the well documented stressors that our first responders — police, firefighters, EMTs — face and sometimes struggle with as a hazard of their noble public service.

Township trustees last month approved spending $122,000 to renovate a property donated to the township to become the Clarence R. Smith Family Mahoning Valley First Responder Wellness Center. Trustees also will accept an additional $464,000 from Mahoning County commissioners to support the project whose primary mission will be to offer mental health support services and treatment for first responders.

“I think it’s very forward thinking of both the Boardman trustees and county commissioners to take this step and use these dollars … One of the strategies we identified was taking care of our safety forces,” said Duane Piccirilli, executive director of the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board.

As such, the project demands maximum public engagement. Neighboring Poland Township already has committed full-throttle support and funding. Other communities in the Valley that value their safety forces and that stand to benefit from the wellness center should not hesitate to do likewise.

Yet in spite of these and other success stories, many challenges remain.

On the federal level, President Donald Trump’s proposed 2026 federal budget plan released last week would slash federal aid to state and county public health departments for addiction and mental health programs by $11.4 billion, a cut that could reverse recent progress in addiction recovery treatment here and across the country.

On a more personal level, the task of building awareness and understanding of the affliction must continue unabated. After all, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 52% of people suffering from mental illnesses still do not seek treatment, at least in part out of fear of lingering stigma, prejudice and discrimination.

That must change. But given the accomplishments achieved in Ohio and the Valley in recent years, hope springs eternal. Heightened awareness coupled with constructive action can go far toward moving mental health care out of the shadows and into its rightful place in the mainstream of American health care.