HHS cuts leave future of mental health, substance use hotlines uncertain
In a meeting about HHS layoffs, employees asked about projects like the National Quit Line and Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Managers didn’t know.
Hotlines that have fielded millions of calls from people — including new mothers — looking for mental health support or to quit smoking are in limbo after federal officials fired the workers who oversaw them.
Employees were cut from offices that fund prevention work on the local, state and tribal level. Those include hotlines like the Maternal Mental Health Hotline run by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and another to help smokers quit using tobacco.
