Former Corporate Counsel for the Kalamazoo County Community Mental Health Authority Steven Burnham (right)speaks to lawmakers on the Michigan House Public Health and Food Security Committee on July 1, 2025 | Photo by Anna Liz Nichols/Michigan Advance
A shortage of psychiatric beds in Michigan is leading to repeated and impractical interactions with law enforcement for individuals in need of mental health care, mental health advocates told state lawmakers Tuesday.
In order to provide the minimum of appropriate care, researchers and the Treatment Advocacy Center regard 30 psychiatric beds for every 100,000 residents living in a state. A 2024 report from the Treatment Advocacy Center, a non profit that advocates for timely access to mental health care, found that Michigan has about 19 beds per 100,000 residents, a shortage of about 1000 beds…