ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. NEW JERSEYANS WALK OFF THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS
2. UMDNJ TO TREAT MENTALLY ILL INMATES
3. SUPPORT WANES FOR BILL TO HELP MENTALLY ILL
4. NEW GREYSTONE TRUSTEES GIVE PANEL A DEMOCRATIC FLAVOR
5. THE DORMS MAY BE GREAT, BUT HOW'S THE COUNSELING?
6. BOSSES PULL THE STRINGS
7. GOP MEDICINE LAW HELPING DEMOCRATS
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NEW JERSEYANS WALK OFF THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS
Sunny skies. Temperatures in the high 60s. Clowns, games,
people wearing shorts and sitting on the grass in Liberty
State Park.
And 4,000 people walking along the Hudson River, celebrating
their fight against the stigma of mental illness.
Walking is a good way to heal, they said. Sure, at this
Oct. 10 event, they raised money. But the two-mile walk,
sponsored by the National Alliance for Mentally Ill's New
Jersey chapter, was mostly to raise awareness.
Read Tom Davis' column in the Record:
http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyOTMmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2MDMwOTImeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5
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UMDNJ TO TREAT MENTALLY ILL INMATES
State corrections officials are expected this week to announce
a major overhaul in the treatment of mentally ill prison
inmates.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
has agreed to provide all mental health services for New
Jersey's largest mental facility -- which is its prison
system -- beginning Jan. 1, 2005.
The state has been under a court mandate for five years
to upgrade conditions for mentally ill prisoners, described
in 1997 as among the worst in the country. Although the
state has spent millions improving conditions, Corrections
Commissioner Devon Brown said he is still "looking
for improvement" on standards of care.
Read the Star Ledger report:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1098593615139280.xml
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SUPPORT WANES FOR BILL TO HELP MENTALLY ILL
Two state senators, including Senate President Richard
Codey, who will become acting governor next month, backed
a bill in June; another 35 of the 40 senators signed on.
But support is unraveling, and opposition is coming from
unlikely opponents. Carolyn Beauchamp, executive director
of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, said S1640
treads on the rights of the mentally ill, a majority of
whom can make their own decisions about care.
"We see this law as blaming the victim" when
the real problem is a lack of services, Beauchamp said.
She said the existing law "is the right balance of
treatment and rights" if only there were the services
to support it.
Read more:
http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-7/109876918536140.xml?starledger?nnj
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NEW GREYSTONE TRUSTEES GIVE PANEL A DEMOCRATIC FLAVOR
McGreevey replaces six of seven members on board that reviews
fiscal matters at psychiatric hospital
The state has scrapped virtually the entire board of trustees
of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, putting a Democratic
stamp on it by naming six new members, all of whom passed
muster with Gov. James E. McGreevey.
Only one of seven members of the governing board of the
long-troubled state facility was retained.
Read Larry Ragonese's report:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-7/109816746019500.xml
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THE DORMS MAY BE GREAT, BUT HOW'S THE COUNSELING?
The college campus can be a stressful place. Surveys show
that the number of college students with mental health problems
of all types is steadily increasing. And some students find
themselves emotionally at sea, struggling with problems
from homesickness and relationship breakups to drug or alcohol
abuse, severe depression or even thoughts of suicide.
Experts say that, given the prevalence of emotional difficulties
on campus, it pays to find out, before choosing a college,
what mental health services are available.
Read the New York Times story (free to register):
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/26/health/psychology/26cons.html
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BOSSES PULL THE STRINGS
Like master puppeteers, New Jersey's political bosses have
been content over the years to remain behind the curtain,
quietly influencing many of the government officials they
helped elect. The boss system has grown to such proportions
in New Jersey that politics has become less about public
issues and more about rewarding the bosses' campaign contributors
-- and even the bosses -- with public contracts, say many
government officials and political observers.
Read the Asbury Park Press report:
http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1088228,00.html
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GOP MEDICINE LAW HELPING DEMOCRATS
Republican visions of electoral gains from last year's
Medicare prescription drug law have vanished, replaced by
Democrats' biting criticism of GOP members of Congress who
voted for the bill.
Democratic candidates are using the issue to link their
opponents to drug companies and insurers, focusing on a
prohibition against the government trying to negotiate lower
prices with drug makers and a ban on importing cheaper prescriptions
from Canada.
Read the Associated Press story:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/109876902936140.xml
