ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. LAST CHANCE TO SAVE MENTAL
HEALTH PARITY IN NEW JERSEY
2. CONGRESS PASSES GUN REPORTING LAW
3. MAPLEWOOD COPS ARE CLEARED IN KILLING OF DISTURBED RESIDENT
4. ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES RECORD SUPPORT FOR HOUSING PROGRAMS
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LAST CHANCE TO SAVE MENTAL HEALTH
PARITY IN NEW JERSEY
Passage of Mental Health Parity hangs in the balance as
the New Jersey Legislative session is about to end. Advocates
must convince Assembly Speaker Roberts to schedule the New
Jersey Parity bill A2512 / S807 for a vote by the full assembly
by January 7 or the entire process (6 committee hearings
and 2 commission reports) must star again from the beginning.
This bill would end the discrimination that has existed
in New Jersey law by requiring insurers to cover the treatment
of mental illness and substance abuse under the same terms
and conditions as any other illness.
ADVOCATES ARE URGED TO EMAIL OR
CALL ASSEMBLY ROBERTS AND URGE HIM TO POST A2512 FOR A VOTE
BY THE FULL ASSEMBLY BECAUSE IT IS COST EFFECTIVE, SAVES
LIVES AND IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
www.ParityLastChance.notlong.com
Get your friends and family to help!
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CONGRESS PASSES GUN REPORTING LAW
Just before adjourning for the holidays, the U.S. Senate
passed a bill, the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007
(HR 2640), to provide incentives to states to report the
names of certain people with mental illnesses who are prohibited
from purchasing guns. The House passed the bill several
months ago and President Bush is expected to sign it into
law.
Read more from NAMI:
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=December8&Template=/ContentManagement/
ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=55262
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MAPLEWOOD COPS ARE CLEARED IN KILLING OF DISTURBED RESIDENT
Two Maplewood police officers who shot and killed an emotionally
disturbed man over the summer -- sparking a statewide debate
over the use of lethal force against the mentally ill --
were cleared of wrongdoing yesterday by a grand jury. The
victim had battled schizophrenia and just three weeks before
the incident had been checked out of the Essex County Hospital
Center, where he was under psychiatric care.
Read the Star Ledger report:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/essex/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1198301712288640.xml&coll=1
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ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES RECORD SUPPORT FOR HOUSING
PROGRAMS
A record number of local homeless programs across America
will receive an unprecedented $1.5 billion in Continuum
of Care grants announced today by the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development. This funding will offer transitional
and permanent supportive housing to more than 168,000 homeless
individuals and families to end the revolving door of homelessness,
especially for those experiencing mental illness, addictions
and chronic disabilities.
Learn more:
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr07-189.cfm
To see the New Jersey awardees:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/budget/2007/07_new_jersey_totals.xls
