ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. CLINTON 'ASYLUM OF TERROR' HAUNTED HOUSE ANGERS N.J.
MENTAL-HEALTH ADVOCATES
2. NAMI NJ ADVOCATE TESTIFIES BEFORE U.S. SENATE
3. WEIGHT GAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS
4. NEW JERSEY'S SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING TRUST FUND WINS AWARD
5. TELEPSYCHIATRY: THE LATEST IN MENTAL-HEALTH SERVICES
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CLINTON 'ASYLUM OF TERROR' HAUNTED HOUSE
ANGERS N.J. MENTAL-HEALTH ADVOCATES
Every fall, the Red Mill Museum here hosts a haunted house.
But this year's "Asylum of Terror," has angered
mental health advocates who said the theme perpetuates ugly
stereotypes. The show, which ends today, warns visitors
of hopeless, mindless and deranged patients lurking in dark
corners ready to lunge.
Mental health advocates at the national level have also
gotten involved. The National Alliance on Mental Illness
issued a nationwide alert about the Clinton haunted mill.
The alliance is asking people to e-mail the mill to tell
them mental illness is a national, as well as local, concern.
Read the full article:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/clinton_asylum_of_terror_haunt.html
See the NAMI NJ Alert:
http://www.naminj.org/advocacy/advocacy_alerts.html
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NAMI NJ ADVOCATE TESTIFIES BEFORE U.S. SENATE
NAMI NEW JERSEY Board member and Ocean County President
Mike Jones testified before the US Senate Committee on Banking,
Housing and Urban Affairs in support of the Frank Melville
Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2009. The bill would
modernize the "Section 811" housing program, the
only federal program dedicated to helping low income citizens
with disabilities live independently in the community through
affordable housing and supportive services. The bill was
introduced in the Senate by, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
who worked closely with New Jersey housing and mental health
advocates. The "Section 811 program," needs to
be updated because the current program is not meeting increased
demand for supportive housing units. The House of Representatives
passed the bill in July.
Watch Mike Jones' testimony (minute 58:35):
http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.LiveStream&Hearing_id=bcf081cb-7814-4535-8e98-89d4b3de5a56
View the bill:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1675
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WEIGHT GAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS
Young children and adolescents who take the newest generation
of antipsychotic medications risk rapid weight gain and
metabolic changes that could lead to diabetes, hypertension
and other illnesses, according the biggest study yet of
first-time users of the drugs. The study, to be published
Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association,
found that 257 young children and adolescents in New York
City and on Long Island added 8 to 15 percent to their weight
after taking the pills for less than 12 weeks. Although
the drugs' influence on weight and metabolism had been previously
detected, the speed and magnitude of the effects found in
the study were greater than previously reported.
Read more in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/business/28psych.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
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NEW JERSEY'S SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING TRUST FUND WINS AWARD
Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Acting Commissioner
Charles Richman today announced the New Jersey Special Needs
Housing Trust Fund won a 2009 Award for Program Excellence
from the National Council of State Housing Agencies. The
New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) administers
the Trust Fund. Since its inception in early 2006, the Special
Needs Housing Trust Fund has financed the construction of
more than 1,100 permanent supportive housing units for people
with disabilities including people with a mental illness
throughout New Jersey. HMFA works with for-profit and non-profit
groups, as well as government entities that are committed
to providing social service supports for their special needs
residents. The Trust Fund will provide up to 80 percent
of the capital funding for a special needs housing project.
Read the full story:
http://newjersey.realestaterama.com/2009/10/19/new-jerseys-special-needs-housing-trust-fund-wins-national-award-ID0313.html
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TELEPSYCHIATRY: THE LATEST IN MENTAL-HEALTH SERVICES
A patient arrives in an emergency room talking of suicide
or exhibiting other symptoms of mental illness. In the past,
that patient could have waited for hours before a staff
psychiatrist would be available to perform an evaluation.
But increasingly, that patient is likely to be placed in
front of a monitor, where he or she can receive a faster
evaluation.
With telepsychiatry, a psychiatrist in a separate location
is connected to a patient and a medical team through audio
and video-conferencing equipment. The psychiatrist is not
just seeing a patient's face and hearing the patient talk;
the doctor can move his or her camera around the room and
pick up on body language.
Read more:
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2009/10/telepsychiatry_the_latest_in_m.html
