DENVER — In an interview with Denver7 anchor Shannon Ogden, US Representative Brittany Pettersen warned that "people are going to die" due to the firing of federal workers amid the government shutdown.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) saw dozens of firings. The administration, which is within the US Department of Health and Human Services, runs the 988 suicide prevention hotline, works with state and local governments on mental health and addiction initiatives and gives out billions in grants.
Between the DOGE cuts in the spring and last weekend's firings, it's believed SAMHSA now has half the 900-person workforce it had at the beginning of the year.
Democratic Rep. Pettersen, who represents Colorado's 7th Congressional District, has been a passionate advocate for addiction and mental health treatment. Her mother struggled for decades with opioid addiction before getting help and getting clean.
"It's going to be absolutely detrimental to the people who are struggling with substance abuse disorder right now," Pettersen said of the SAMHSA cuts. "It also takes away the funding to the people who are tracking overdose deaths."
Ogden asked her if nonprofits and the private sector would have to step up to fill the gap. Pettersen isn't optimistic.
"But we have to be realistic that there's fundamentally not enough money in the system — and people — to be able to invest in these types of things to meet this gap," Pettersen said. "People are going to die from these health care cuts."
The Trump administration insists the cuts are necessary to shrink the federal government and make it more efficient.
A Health and Human Services spokesperson told ABC News that SAMHSA employees who received a Reduction in Force notice "were deemed non-essential by their respective division."
