Reason for Hope

Reason for Hope is a non-profit #mentalhealth and suicide prevention #advocacy organization focused on advancing safe and affordable access to psychedelic therapies. Reason for Hope’s work includes educating government officials and various stakeholder groups on the scientific and legal landscape for #psychedelic medicine, developing pilot programs for those most in need, and building broad coalitions of patient advocates, mental health professionals, and other experts to develop and advocate for #policy reforms needed to reduce barriers and safely increase access to psychedelic and other #BreakthroughTherapies. Reason for Hope’s co-founders and multi-disciplinary leadership team includes Lieutenant General Martin Steele, USMC (ret), Lynnette A. Averill, PhD, and Brett Waters The Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition is a national member-based #Veterans organization that brings together the leadership of various Veteran Service Organizations, researchers, and veteran mental health providers with expertise in psychedelic medicine to exchange ideas and advocate for increased veteran-focused #research funding and safe, affordable access to psychedelic therapies for Veterans and their family members.

The?U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?spends billions on mental health and suicide prevention, yet Veterans remain in crisis. A core problem, which the VA has recognized for years, is the lack of effective medications. In 2017, the?VA’s own PTSD expert group declared a “crisis in the pharmacotherapy of PTSD.”?They noted that the only two FDA-approved PTSD medications (both SSRIs) had limited efficacy, forcing clinicians to rely on unproven polypharmacy. Their top recommendations? Make finding effective PTSD treatments a national priority and increase collaboration with industry and academia to expand clinical trials. That same year, the FDA designated MDMA-assisted therapy as a “Breakthrough Therapy” for PTSD, recognizing its potential to outperform existing treatments. Yet, the VA waited seven years to fund its first study—committing just $1.5 million over five years—despite an annual mental health budget exceeding $10 billion. Why are the VA, Congress, and other funding agencies not doing more to prioritize advancing a Breakthrough Therapy for PTSD, when the limitations of existing medications have been well established for years?The mental health crisis won’t improve by cutting funding or personnel (in fact we need many more mental health professionals to meet Veterans’ needs), or completely discarding conventional treatments—but we need to prioritize research and access for Veterans to innovative therapies with the potential to deliver life-changing results. This includes the need to invest in training clinicians in these novel forms of care delivery. The?Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition?unites Veterans, caregivers, researchers, and clinicians to push for better solutions. We believe research funding must shift toward breakthrough treatments that can immediately improve the standard of care. For too long, the government has disproportionately funded basic research that rarely proves useful in practice to improve Veterans’ lives. These conversations matter. Policymakers must step up, think bigger, and lead boldly. The time for real solutions is now. Quote from?Tim Jensen,?Grunt Style Foundation.

Yesterday, Hawaii SB 1042 passed the Senate Ways and Means committee in a unanimous vote! It now heads to the House. Earlier this month, Reason for Hope co-founder Dr. Lynnette A. Averill, PhD testified before the Hawaii State Senate’s committee on health and human services in support of SB 1042. We’re proud to be part of this monumental decision, and are grateful to Senator Chris Lee and our friends at The Clarity Project for their leadership in Hawaii.

Last week, Reason for Hope co-founder Lt. General Martin R. Steele (USMC, ret.) testified before the Hawaii State Senate’s committee on health and human services in support of SB 1042, an act to create an emerging therapies fund. The hearing featured an overwhelming amount of powerful testimony regarding the lifesaving and life changing potential of psilocybin and other psychedelic therapies for people struggling with a variety of mental and behavioral health conditions. Thank you to Senator Chris Lee and our friends at The Clarity Project as for their leadership in Hawaii. We’re excited to share that the bill unanimously passed the HHS committee, and now heads to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Seeking veteran volunteers for a study! If you’re a U.S. veteran with PTSD, aged between 21-64, you might be eligible to be part of an upcoming study by the Baylor College of Medicine. Want to help make a difference? Complete the quick pre-screening at redcap.link/starlight and await their team’s call!

Earlier this month, Virginia Senate voted to pass SB 1101. Now, we need YOUR help to ensure it gets across the finish line. Here’s what you can do to keep up the momentum: 1???Email the Speaker of the House and House Majority Leaders urging them to support SB 1101. 2?? Contact Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Office to express support for this critical measure. Their emails are: Speaker Scott: [email protected] Majority Leader Herring: [email protected] Gov. Glenn Youngkin: [email protected] Spread the word by sharing this post with your fellow Virginians and Americans, and visit the link in the comments for an email template you can use and share. Let’s keep pushing forward for Virginia’s Veterans. We got this!

Yesterday (2/3/25), the Virginia Senate voted unanimously to pass SB 1101, the Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, marking major step forward in ensuring that Virginia remains at the forefront of Veteran mental health innovation. Previously amended to remove the funding mechanism and automatic rescheduling provisions, SB 1101 now focuses solely on the creation of the Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Advisory Council within the Virginia Department of Health. Some adjustments were made to the bill, but it still marks a victory. Moving forward, the Advisory Council will play a crucial role in studying and making recommendations to the legislature on how best to proceed regarding regulatory changes and investment in Veteran-centric research, workforce training, and clinical infrastructure for FDA-designated breakthrough therapies. SB 1101 is now moving into the House of Delegates, where we will continue working to ensure its passage. Should it pass the House and be signed by the Governor, Virginia will be well-positioned to lead in supporting Veteran access to innovative treatments for PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injury. ?? Now, we need your help to keep up the momentum and ensure SB 1101 gets across the finish line. Here’s how you can help: 1?? Email the Speaker of the House and House Majority Leaders urging them to support SB 1101. Their emails are.... ??Speaker Scott: [email protected] ??Majority Leader Herring: [email protected] 2?? Contact Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Office to express support for this critical measure at [email protected] 3?? We also encourage you to spread the word by sharing this post with your fellow Virginians and Americans. Finally, we want to offer a massive thank you to Senator Hashmi, our coalition partners, and all the advocates who helped get us to this point. Let’s keep pushing forward for Virginia’s Veterans. Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition Navy SEAL Foundation Grunt Style Foundation Heroic Hearts Project Ladan Eshkevari, Alison Messick, Logan Davidson

We're thrilled to share that Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition's Director of Operations, Adam Marr, will be speaking at the upcoming Nevada Psychedelic Policy Summit on Saturday, January 25th, from 10 AM-3 PM PST.Adam will be featured, alongside other distinguished speakers, on the?Lobbying 101 & Testimony?panel at?10-11:15 AM PST. We’re looking forward to?a critical legislative discussion that will feature distinguished speakers addressing pressing matters in psychedelic therapies and policy reform. We’ll be discussing Nevada’s legislative process, working Group findings and reform strategies, current bills, benefits, and safety of psychedelic medicine legislation, and state and federal mental health policies. Join us this weekend by following the link in the comments to register. #psychedelictherapy #policyreform

Reason for Hope and the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition are grateful to our lobbyists at The Daschle Group and Vogel Group for putting together an excellent 2025 Psychedelic Medicine Federal Policy Roundtable in DC last week. We appreciate the engaged discussion and collaboration amongst such a large and diverse group of stakeholders. Special thanks for the bipartisan participation and leadership of Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus Co-Chairs Lou Correa and Jack Bergman,?Congressional Neuroscience Co-Chair?Morgan Luttrell, House Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano, and former Senate Majority Leader?Tom?Daschle. We look forward to continued progress in 2025 to increase funding, reduce barriers, and accelerate access to psychedelic and other breakthrough therapies for mental health and suicide prevention.

Thank you Senator Ghazala Hashmi for introducing SB 1101, the Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, which will be discussed in the Virginia Senate Health-Subcommittee at 4 pm today. This bill streamlines regulations and establishes a fund and advisory council to support Veteran-focused research and access to FDA Breakthrough Therapies for PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injury. Reason for Hope and the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition submitted this letter of support to Senator Favola and sub-committee members, outlining how it can help Virginia lead the way improving Veteran mental health and preventing suicide in both the immediate and long-term by investing in research, training, and infrastructure development for breakthrough treatments that do not fit neatly into the current mental healthcare system. We appreciate the leadership of our VMHLC members and partner organizations in Virginia, including the Navy SEAL Foundation and its Chief Operating Officer, Alison Messick, who is testifying in today's hearing, as well as USN retired Rear Admirals Brian Losey and Mark Leavitt, USN retired Lieutenant Colonel Mark Keller, and Dr. Ladan Eshkevari, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University, and co-founder of Avesta Mental Health.