St. Tammany Parish Government is poised to make major cuts in next year's funding for the Safe Haven mental health campus and it is far from clear what that means for the behavioral health services that students, families and St. Tammany residents rely on there.

Some council members argue they need to make the $620,000 cuts because the campus' dedicated funding has dried up and the parish's general fund has grown overburdened and unable to fully cover other agencies' costs. In adding the cuts in a Nov. 17 amendment to the 2026 budget, the council called for a "major shutdown" of Safe Haven's campus near Mandeville.

"Psychiatric services and psychiatric care are desperately needed," said council member Arthur Laughlin, but he said "the numbers don't work." He pointed to St. Tammany vot

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