Nevada’s mental health care system was already in dire straits. The carnage in Las Vegas will strain it more
Nevada ranks last in access to mental health care and has a dire shortage of psychiatrists. Counseling needs will likely soar following the mass shooting.
LAS VEGAS — The volunteer psychologists and counselors have been pouring into this grieving city, so fast that a state official says the supply far exceeds the demand for crisis counseling.
But a worrisome question looms: What happens when the volunteers go home?
Nevada’s mental health system was already overstretched before the carnage on Sunday night at a country music festival here. Now, thousands of victims, survivors, and their loved ones — as well as first responders and local workers who witnessed the horror — are expected to need mental health services in the coming weeks and months.
