Give credit where credit is due, and I will..just check back with me in two months and I’ll give British Petroleum all the credit in the world for doing what it is they morally should have done from the beginning.

From Channel 6 News in Houston:

BP announced on Monday a $52 million award to fund behavioral health support and outreach programs across the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

The award will be given to federal and state health organizations. The multimillion funding will help residents link up to support available through providers in their communities and it will be available through local outreach programs and a special toll-free phone line where information on available services will be provided.

“We appreciate that there is a great deal of stress and anxiety across the region and as part of our determination to make things right for the people of the region, we are providing this assistance now to help make sure individuals who need help know where to turn,” said Lamar McKay, President of BP America.

While I welcome this news, the above quote would seem to indicate that Mr. McKay and his corporation never really understood the stress and anxiety of Gulf Cost residents at all. If they had, they might understand that the interminable delays and unwillingness to commit to aiding mental health programs only served to add to the anxiety and stress of everyone involved in providing these services and especially, those in need of them.

Let us not forget what had to happen to get today’s announcement:

Multiple requests had to be made by multiple states (Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi) with no response from BP for weeks.

In July, the Executive Director of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Michael Fitzpatrick, had to call out BP for its irresponsibility in a public, national letter.

Also in July, the Louisiana DHH was forced to advise the US Department of Health and Human Services in a publicly released letter how they’d requested funds from BP to provide much needed services, but were getting nowhere.

So, Mr. McKay, whereas it is appreciated your company finally did the right thing, your grand pronouncement of compassion and care? It rings about as true as the forced apology from a playground bully, right after you finally got busted by the sociology teacher…remember? When you got caught being an asshole?

Read the article

$52 million for behavioral health support across the Gulf Coast region

Have a nice day.