It can be hard for people to ask for help when they need it, especially with their mental health. Finding help? Equally difficult.

The average wait time nationally for behavioral health services is 48 days, according to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

In 2023, nearly half of the 59 million adults with a mental illness in the U.S. received no treatment, according to federal data.

Those numbers reveal a serious supply-and-demand problem in the behavioral health industry: Demand for mental health services is on the rise, driven by factors such as increased depression and anxiety during the opioid epidemic and after the COVID pandemic. But the supply of workers can’t keep pace.

In Pennsylvania, the shortage of mental health workers is particularly acute. It’s projected the state will face a shortage of more than 6,300 workers in the field in 2026.

We can’t sit by and let this happen. We need more mental health workers.

As the only social worker in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, I’m working on solutions.

My House Bill 554 would improve access to mental health services by authorizing Pennsylvania to join the Social Workers Licensure Compact, a multi-state agreement that allows licensed social workers to practice across state lines.

It passed the House earlier this year with strong bipartisan support and is pending in the Senate.

Social workers can help during a mental health crisis by providing several mental health services. They can provide counseling, case management, advocacy and help finding mental health resources.

Joining the compact will encourage more social workers to practice here by cutting red tape for those looking to practice in another state.

That will also make Pennsylvania a more attractive place to live and work.

Other health care fields are experiencing worker shortages as well, and compacts are one of the tools the state is turning to.

Pennsylvania has joined multi-state agreements recently as we work to address shortages of qualified doctors, nurses and physical therapists.

Yet compacts alone won’t solve the problem. They will help, but the solution has to be multi-pronged.

Many health care facilities are doing what they can to address the shortage — raising base pay, offering tuition reimbursement, allowing flexible work schedules — and those are all pieces to the puzzle.

Gov. Josh Shapiro and House Democrats also sought more pieces in this year’s budget, but we’ll have to continue fighting for those, because unfortunately they weren’t included in the final budget compromise.

Those proposals would have devoted more state funds to help with statewide hospital staffing, behavioral health loan repayment programs, and tuition reimbursement for nursing students.

As our attention turns soon to our next state budget, I am hopeful we can revisit those proposals and build momentum for investing more in these necessary programs.

“It’s imperative that state and national leaders focus on policies that grow the number of health care professionals and ensure providers have the flexibility to innovate and meet their communities’ needs,” Nicole Stallings, president and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, said earlier this year.

I agree — wholeheartedly. We must do everything we can to grow the number of health care professionals in Pennsylvania. We must meet this need.

State Rep. Aerion A. Abney represents the 19th District in Allegheny County and serves on the House Appropriations Committee.