Support SAMHSA Reauthorization!

This article came from the NAMI website. This is very important legislation as we desperately need to help our mentally ill homeless people. Most of them, in my opinion, just need to be taking the correct medicine, then they would probably be positive, contributing members of society.

January 18, 2008

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to consider legislation to reauthorize the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on January 30th. The draft bill includes a package of important initiatives that NAMI has been working on for years, including:

Expansion of suicide prevention programs,
Prevention of custody relinquishment,
Services for homeless individuals with mental illness and
Efforts to further reduce the use of restraint and seclusion of young people.

ACT NOW!

One of your state’s U.S. Senators serves on the HELP Committee and it is now critical to contact their office to press them to support this draft SAMHSA reauthorization bill. Call or email your Senator today, and urge them to vote in support of the reauthorization on January 30.

Call Instructions:

Find your Senator from the list below, and call the number:

State Senator Telephone

AK	Lisa Murkowski	202-224-6665
CO	Wayne Allard	202-224-5941
CT	Christopher Dodd	202-224-2823
GA	Johnny Isakson	202-224-3646
IA	Tom Harkin	202-224-3254
IL	Barack Obama	202-224-2854
KS	Pat Roberts	202-224-4774
MA	Edward Kennedy	202-224-4543
MD	Barbara A. Mikulski	202-224-4654
NC	Richard Burr	202-224-3154
NH	Judd Gregg	202-224-3324
NM	Jeff Bingaman	202-224-5521
NY	Hillary Rodham Clinton	202-224-4451
OK	Tom Coburn, MD	202-224-5754
OH	Sherrod Brown	202-224-2315
RI	Jack Reed	202-224-4642
TN	Lamar Alexander	202-224-4944
UT	Orrin G. Hatch	202-224-5251
VT	Bernard Sanders	202-224-5141
WA	Patty Murray	202-224-2621
WY	Micheal B. Enzi	202-224-3424

Talking Points

Remind your Senator that the SAMHSA Reauthorization bill includes the following critical provisions for children and adults living with mental illness and their families:

Renewal of expansion of the Garrett Lee Smith Act that support state and local efforts to replicate successful strategies for youth suicide prevention and college-based mental health programs,
The Keeping Families Together Act (S 382) that authorizes planning grants for states to implement strategies designed to address the tragic and unnecessary policy of families relinquishing custody of a child in order to access mental health services,
The Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA, S 593) that authorizes services in permanent supportive housing for individuals with mental illness and co-occurring disorders that have experienced chronic homelessness,
Efforts by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and others to expand federal efforts to curb the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion, particularly for adolescents placed in juvenile facilities and correctional schools, and
Expanded requirements for states to collect data regarding expenditure of federal mental health block grant funds and their relationship to specific outcomes.

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Press Release

Press Release
A Bipolar Quandary: New Book Highlights Family's Struggle with Bipolar DisorderARLINGTON, Texas, March 23, 2007 -- Author Liz Janill tells the true story of a woman with bipolar disorder and the painful experiences of her family that cares for her in her new book, "Who Are the Victims? A Bipolar Quandary" (now available through AuthorHouse). Dorothy is medically diagnosed with bipolar disorder, in addition to suffering from delusions. Her husband, Charles, must make the decision to either place her in an asylum or allow her to live at home and help raise their three young children. Ultimately, he decides that the children should have a mother in their lives, no matter what. This begins the family's unforgettable journey of understanding as they work with Dorothy to manage her disorder and delusions. At times, Dorothy is lucid, but most of her time is spent in a hyper-manic and delusional frame of mind. The story is told through the eyes of Liz, Dorothy's daughter, beginning when she is 5 years old. Dorothy and Liz are very close and spend a great deal of time together. Liz expresses many of her thoughts and feelings regarding her mother and recounts the amazing obstacles that the family overcomes due to the disorder. "It is a love story in some ways about a family who loved Dorothy extremely and how they protected and took care of her for 48 years," says Janill. Through her story, Janill walks readers through the painful decisions that must be made every day on behalf of someone who is bipolar. "Bipolar disorder is an emotional rollercoaster ride that involves not only the bipolar person, but the whole family itself," she says. Janill wrote this book to share the very personal story of her now deceased mother. She hopes to reach other families in similar situations by providing a source of comfort and support in the knowledge that they are not alone. AuthorHouse is the premier publishing house for emerging authors and new voices in literature. For more information, please visit http://www.authorhouse.com.

Bipolar Blog by Liz

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Information on new Legislation from NAMI