The suicide rate in the central US state of Kansas rose by a staggering 30 percent between 2011 and 2012.  Although there’s no official cause, it coincides with combination of massive cuts to state funding for mental health coupled with the stresses brought on by the global recession.

“Treatment dollars have gone down and more and more people are coming to us, a growing number without any other payment for services,” said Marilyn Cook, executive director of the Sedwick County community health center.  “Without adequate funding, it’s difficult for us to get to everybody who needs care and help.”

Ultra-conservative republican lawmakers dominate the Kansas legislature and governor’s office.  The cuts they made to mental health care between 2009 and 2012 were among the deepest in any American state.

But the US suicide rate had already been on the rise, because of the worsening economy under the George W. Bush administration.  And there’s ample evidence from all over the world that correlates economic despair and mental health problems and suicide– especially among men. 

Mental health workers are afraid of what’s to come.  Another round of cuts imposed by congressional republicans in Washington, DC and their failure to work with President Barack Obama is forcing the federal government to pull back funding for substance abuse and mental health programs – the very funding local governments and organization had relied on as states like Kansas refuse to step up.