ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. WHAT THE DEBT LIMIT AGREEMENT MEANS FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
2. NEW MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT WORTH FIGHTING FOR
3. MEASURE WOULD MAKE PERMANENT NJ VETERANS PROGRAM
4. COUNTIES MAY JOIN GROWING TREND IN SELLING NURSING HOMES
5. LEARNING TO COPE WITH A MIND’S TAUNTING VOICES
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WHAT THE DEBT LIMIT AGREEMENT MEANS FOR PEOPLE WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS
A major economic catastrophe was averted through the agreement put together by President Obama and congressional leaders to increase the current debt limit and bring about significant deficit reduction over the coming decade. The agreement includes a 10-year cap on discretionary spending and formation of a new bipartisan congressional committee charged with identifying an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. In terms of assessing the impact of this agreement on people with mental illness, it is important to note that the increase in the government’s borrowing authority will ensure NO interruption critical safety net benefits such as monthly cash assistance under the SSI and SSDI disability benefits.
Read the NAMI analysis:
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Whats_New43&template=/Content
Management/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=124772
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NEW MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT WORTH FIGHTING FOR
I once sat at a mental health conference at which a high-ranking state mental health administrator told a roomful of impressionable people that, while he does not want to implement IOC, it is law and he has to do it. It would have been so much better to say that he hoped IOC could make a difference in someone’s life. It is my hope that, when all the negative rhetoric about this treatment is proven untrue and some mentally ill people avoid the inevitable collision course of homelessness and voices because of this treatment, that those who have been so adamantly against IOC will see they did not fully understand the dangers that IOC can prevent — including violence, death and physical illness.
See Valerie Fox’s Daily Record Op Ed:
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110807/NJOPINION03/308070014/
New-mental-health-treatment-worth-fighting-for
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MEASURE WOULD MAKE PERMANENT NJ VETERANS PROGRAM
Legislation that would make permanent a peer counseling program that has helped thousands of New Jersey veterans deal with mental health matters has been sent to Gov. Chris Christie's desk. Vet-2-Vet, a toll-free confidential help line, was created years ago by the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. It's designed as an early intervention for returning veterans suffering from psychological or emotional distress or seeking help assimilating back into civilian life.
Read more:
http://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/measure-would-make-permanent-nj-veterans-program-1.3080645
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COUNTIES MAY JOIN GROWING TREND IN SELLING NURSING HOMES
Sussex and Cumberland counties could soon join a growing number of counties in New Jersey to sell their county-operated nursing homes in an effort to cut costs, according to the head of the New Jersey Association of Counties. At least six of the state’s 21 counties — including Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Middlesex, Union and Warren — currently operate long-term health care facilities for the elderly, many of which were established to care for poor and indigent residents. Nursing homes across the state will see their state and federal funding cut by $75 million under the budget signed by Gov. Christie.
Go to the Star Ledger coverage:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/sussex_and_cumberland_counties.html
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LEARNING TO COPE WITH A MIND’S TAUNTING VOICES
In recent years, researchers have begun talking about mental health care in the same way addiction specialists speak of recovery — the lifelong journey of self-treatment and discipline that guides substance abuse programs. The idea remains controversial: managing a severe mental illness is more complicated than simply avoiding certain behaviors. The journey has more mazes, fewer road signs. Now more and more people are risking exposure to tell their stories publicly.
Read the NY Times coverage:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/health/07lives.html?_r=1
