Above: Tom Harrington, President and Executive Director of Valley Youth House, speaks about the importance of funding for mental health services for young people

At a press conference on April 25, 2025, Valley Youth House – alongside leaders from KidsPeace, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Pinebrook Family Answers, Salisbury Behavioral Health, and Lehigh Valley Health Network – issued an urgent call to action: without immediate and significant increases in county, state, and federal funding, the youth mental health system in Pennsylvania, and nationwide, will face devastating consequences.

The gathering, hosted at Valley Youth House’s headquarters in Bethlehem, was a powerful warning about the escalating children’s mental health crisis, and a stark reminder that current resources are nowhere near sufficient to meet the region’s surging needs.

“We have children that show up in our emergency rooms every single day with either suicidal ideation or some sort of mental health complication,” said Anne Baum, President of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. “Many of them have to stay in our emergency rooms for too long because there is not an appropriate placement for them to access. It’s not for want of serving them — they just do not exist at the volume we need. We need to take action.”

For organizations like Valley Youth House, KidsPeace, and others, the stakes could not be higher. They provide a vital continuum of care, from school-based prevention and early intervention to emergency shelters, family-based services, residential treatment, and crisis support. Every day, they fight to keep youth safe, stable, and healthy.

But these services are severely underfunded.

“Mental health services are traditionally under-resourced by the state and insurance companies,” said Michael Slack, President and CEO of KidsPeace. “Reimbursement rates run significantly below the cost of delivering appropriate care. Providers like us are forced to make up the difference with grants and donations — or limit the number of kids we admit into our programs, creating long wait times that only worsen symptoms and delay care.”

Proposed federal budget cuts to programs like Medicaid will reverberate through every corner of the public health system — whether you are directly impacted today or not.

“No one in Pennsylvania will escape the negative impact of the proposed cuts,” warned State Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D-132). “Even if you don’t have a child in crisis now, at some point you or someone you love will need a public health system that relies on these dollars.”

“We won’t just be talking about survival of institutions,” said Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure. “We will be talking about children’s survival.”

Valley Youth House’s President and Executive Director, Tom Harrington, emphasized that funding youth mental health services isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

“For many of the young people we work with, funding these programs is not just something nice — it is literally life or death,” Harrington said. “And for those concerned about costs, we know that early intervention saves money. If we fail to act now, the human and financial costs down the road will be far greater.”

Programs like Valley Youth House’s school-based counseling which eliminates barriers like cost and insurance, and its emergency shelter and family-based services are lifelines for youth facing trauma, housing instability, and mental health crises. Without sustained funding, these lifelines could vanish.

“Preserving crucial services like school-based behavioral health is not just about wellness in adulthood,” said Thespina Godshalk, Administrator of School-Based Behavioral Health at Lehigh Valley Health Network. “It’s about ensuring that youth even have the chance to live into adulthood.”

County leaders echoed the need to protect the region’s most vulnerable.

“We’re here to make sure we protect the vulnerable people in our communities,” said Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong. “We cannot turn our backs on them.”

Marci Lesko, Chief Executive Officer of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, stressed the urgency: “If you had dollars tucked away for a rainy day, let me tell you very clearly — it is raining. Now is the time to invest in these providers, to give them the unrestricted operating dollars they need to care for and protect our children.”

Friday’s event marked the launch of a coordinated advocacy campaign aimed at saving and expanding mental health services for youth.

“Today marks the beginning of an advocacy effort to first raise awareness, second reduce stigma, and third secure additional funding and resources to ensure these programs not only survive, but grow,” said Harrington.

Valley Youth House and its partners call upon legislators to act now, before the system crumbles and before more young lives are put in danger.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, it’s important to seek help and support. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988. You can also chat online at 988lifeline.org or call, chat, or text with NAMI. For non-crisis support, the NMIH resources offers free, nationwide peer support and resources.

Anne Baum, left, and Thespina L. Godshalk of Lehigh Valley Health Network addressed the need for continued government funding of children’s mental health programs.

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-132nd Legislative District, spoke of the need to continue to fund children’s mental health programs.