The nation’s capital is caught between local progress and federal retreat when it comes to mental health care. While community programs in Washington, D.C., are showing results, the Trump administration’s decision to pause key rules surrounding mental health coverage threatens to undercut that momentum.

According to the 2024 Senior Report , drug deaths among District residents age 65 and older more than doubled in recent years — climbing from 40.6 deaths per 100,000 between 2017-2019 to 89.4 between 2020-2022.

Black seniors in D.C. face an early death rate more than four times higher than their white peers. Add to that a poverty rate of nearly 16% among older adults and a housing cost burden consuming more than 40% of income, and the city is staring at a full-scale behavioral health cr

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