BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – As Mental Health Awareness month comes to a close this weekend, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is launching a new method to access more mental health services.
The new services are made to expand crisis response services, such as the 988 lifeline.
“Mental health is just as important as physical health, and Team Kentucky is taking action to expand access and help people of all ages feel supported through quality care,” Gov. Beshear said in a release. “While May is Mental Health Awareness Month, this work is a yearlong effort for my administration, and we’re going to build on the progress we’ve made to protect more lives.”
Kentucky launched the three-digit 988 crisis line in 2022. Since then, the states 988 lifeline has handled around 265,000 calls, chats and texts according to the Governor’s Office.
The in-state network of 14 community mental health centers has answered calls in an average of 25 seconds, the administration said, and calls routed to in-state centers increased 30% over the past year.
Beshear said recent legislation has expanded mental health coverage and access. During the 2026-2028 budget session, he signed House Bill 169, requiring more health plans to cover the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders.
House Bill 178 was also included, which establishes a psychiatric collaborative care model intended to support reimbursement and coverage for mental health treatment.
Beshear also signed several mental health-related laws in 2022, including House Bill 65, expanding telehealth to include mental health services, House Bill 127, increasing access to assisted outpatient treatment for people with severe mental illness, and House Bill 44, allowing students to take mental health days, the administration said.
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said the administration has also focused on students’ mental health, noting more than $40 million in grant funding awarded to expand school-based mental health resources statewide.
“I am proud of the work the Beshear-Coleman administration has done to improve mental health resources throughout Kentucky,” Coleman said in a statement. “We believe healthcare is a basic right, and that includes mental healthcare.”
Beshear’s office also tied mental health efforts to the state’s response to addiction, saying Kentucky has seen four consecutive years of declines in overdose deaths.
The administration cited expanded addiction services through Medicaid, Naloxone distribution, grants to treatment organizations, recovery initiatives, reentry services, and law enforcement efforts to reduce the supply of illicit drugs.
People seeking help for addiction can call the KY HELP Call Center at 833-8KY-HELP or visit FindHelpNowKy.org.
Copyright 2026 WBKO. All rights reserved.