Governor Ron DeSantis spoke about mental health and substance abuse in a news conference at the University of South Florida this morning [on Wednesday]. He said Florida’s emergency hotline, 988, has solved 96% of mental health cases without escalatory measures. The governor said that none of the callers had died by suicide.
He noted that financial grants are available for families facing or at risk of homelessness, covering shelter, housing utilities, rehousing, and transportation.
DeSantis signed two bills dealing with mental health and substance abuse.
The Tristin Murphy Act was named after a young man with schizophrenia, paranoia, and delusions who did not receive needed mental health care while in the criminal justice system. He died by suicide in 2021. According to DeSantis, it could have been avoided.
“This is something that probably there would have been a good chance that that would have been mitigated or he would not have even attempted that, had there been some mental health intervention. Under this bill, counties and municipalities are going to be able to establish misdemeanor mental health programs as well as pre-trial felony programs, so if people are in the justice system and have these significant mental health afflictions, we don’t think that just putting them in jail is always going to fix it “ DeSantis said.
The governor also signed Senate Bill 1620.
The bill enacts key recommendations from Florida’s Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. It also renames the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida to the “Senator Darryl E. Rouson Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Research.”
One Response to “Governor Ron DeSantis signs two mental health bills”
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He says, “Florida’s emergency hotline, 988, has resolved 96% of mental health cases without needing to escalate them.” I’m skeptical about that number. I personally know several people who called 988, spoke to an agent, and were told someone would follow up—but no one ever did. If “not escalating” just means ignoring people after the first call, then of course the numbers look good. But the truth is, those people still needed help, and they didn’t get it.
In cases like these, follow-up is critical. When someone is reaching out in a mental health crisis, it’s not enough to just take one call and move on. I know of at least five people who were left without any further contact. That’s not a success story—it’s a failure.
We need to stop using mental health as a talking point to make the state or its leadership look good. Let’s be honest: there’s a lot that still needs to be fixed when it comes to mental health support. Real help means real action, not just political spin and inflated numbers.