The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chicago and Young Invincibles applaud Governor Pritzker’s call for $4 million in state funding for the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act (MHEACA) in his proposed state budget for FY2025. MHEACA passed unanimously in 2019 to help address the rising mental health care needs for Illinois college students. NAMI Chicago and Young Invincibles have been advocating for consistent, full funding as part of a years-long advocacy campaign for campus mental health services, overwhelmingly supported by the state’s public institutions of higher education. The Act requires all public two- and four-year colleges and universities to support the mental health of students by: 

• Increasing training and awareness among faculty, staff, and students 

• Building better mental health screening to identify students in need 

• Improving capacity to provide mental health treatment and peer support on campus 

• Creating a statewide Technical Assistance Center to assist in implementation and policy development

The $22.2 million appropriation was calculated by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA), which surveyed every public college and university in the state to determine how much funding each institution would require to implement the law. College students are experiencing all-time high rates of depression, anxiety and suicidality, according to the latest Healthy Minds survey.