January 2012 -
The Mentally Ill are Flooding Our Emergency Rooms
We need to reverse the cuts of mental health care now
Illinois has cut spending on mental health needs
dramatically, but Illinois is not alone.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness,
Illinois state spending on mental health care dropped $187
million, or 31.7%, between fiscal 2009 and 2012. Still,
California cut $587 million in health services in the last
two years and, according to the
National Association of State Mental Health Program
Directors, total cuts for all 50 states was $3.4 billion
over the last three years. While the programs were being
cut, the number of people seeking help at public mental
health facilities grew by 400,000.
Click here to read more
December 2011 -
Schizophrenia and the Man Who Shot At the White House
You’ve probably read the news reports: “A man who shot an
assault rifle at the White House is one of only a handful of
people ever accused of trying to
assassinate the president, and if the past is any guide he
could spend many years in prison or a mental hospital if
convicted,” says an article in the
November 21 Washington Post.
According to Fox News, “Authorities are investigating the
man's mental health and say there are indications he
believed attacking the White House was
part of a personal mission from God, according to a law
enforcement official who spoke with The Associated Press.”
Click here to read more
November 2011 -
My Meeting With Representative Dold
On October 10, I had
the opportunity to meet with the honorable Representative
Robert J. Dold and talk to him about the criminalization of
the mentally ill and of my son.
I gave Representative
Dold a binder of various important information that included
articles on Asperger Syndrome, policy statements from the
Treatment Advocacy Center, a NAMI brochure, suggestions on
dealing with the growing numbers of people in the criminal
system with Asperger Syndrome and various other information.
Overall, I was pleased
with the visit. He was responsive to the problems that are
faced by our loved ones. I'd like to share
some of what we discussed and a number of
suggestions for improving the criminal justice system.
September 2011 -
The
Murder of a Homeless Person
The Murder of a Homeless Person
As President of NAMI BA, I am appalled by the murder of the
homeless person in Fullerton, California. Last month's
police killing of an unarmed schizophrenic homeless man in
Fullerton has sparked debate about how police deal with
mentally ill suspects. Kelly Thomas died after half a dozen
police officers tried to subdue him at a bus depot.
Click here to read more
July 2011 -
The Injustice of Incarceration of Our Mentally Ill
The idea
for this
column
came out
of the
frustration
of
trying
to get
information
about my
son’s
unjust
incarceration.
He is in
Indiana
in
federal
prison
and I do
not know
if he is
getting
anytreatment
and when
he is
getting
out. I
am also
not
allowed
to visit
him. My
son has
Asperger
Syndrome
and,
while
bright,
behaves
like a 2
year
old.
Unfortunately
when he
acts up,
he gets
more
time.
The
authorities
have
kept him
imprisoned
for over
4 years
for
non-violent
crimes.
Most of
his
crimes
are from
emails.
In this
time
many
people
like his
grandmother
and
cousins
have
passed
away. He
also
missed
his
sister’s
wedding.
Click here to read more on
the Injustice
January 2011 -
Ideas For 2011
I wish
everybody
a happy
and
healthy
new
year. It
is hard
to
believe
that
2011 is
upon us.
I am
honored to be the new President of NAMI Barrington Area. We
have so many outstanding people who are a vital part of the
chapter. We had many great accomplishments last year.
However, there are many things for us to accomplish in 2011.
There will
be more details throughout the year
(Click here to read more on
our Ideas for 2011)
December 2010 -
More News on Health Care Reform
Lora Thomas, Executive
Director of NAMI Illinois, Linda Virgil, the chair of NAMI
Illinois’ legislative committee and I recently attended a
NAMI legislative conference in a Washington DC suburb. The
three-day conference focused on coming changes to mental
health insurance coverage, the new health care reform act
–the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA),-- and what NAMI
affiliates can do about the difficulties states are having
in funding mental health programs.
It was a jam packed three
days.
(Click here to read more on the health care reform)
October 2010 -
Two Pieces of Good News
Even though the mental health
funding news from Springfield grows more and more grim,
there is some good news on housing for people with mental
illness.
The first is the progress
of the lawsuit Williams vs. Quinn and the other piece of
good news concerns the Housing Task force
(Click here to read
the good news)
September 2010 -
The Human Cost of Illinois' Budget Mess
The Human Cost of Illinois'
Budget Mess
In addition to being active in NAMI, I am a community
representative on the board of an umbrella group of homeless
assistance providers. The group recently met with the heads
of one of the Chicago area’s offices of the Illinois
Department of Human Services. What I learned shows some of
the human cost of Illinois’ broken budget.
Here are some particulars:
(Click here to read more)
August 2010 -
News
From NAMI National Conference
On June 29, NAMI BA Board
member Carol Ziolo and I joined eight other area NAMI
members as the Illinois delegation to the NAMI National
Conference in Washington DC. The conference ran
through July 3, and some of the Illinois delegates stayed
through the Fourth of July and joined the celebrations on
the Mall. I didn’t stay, but the people who did reported
that they had a marvelous time – music, bands, singing and
wonderful
fireworks over the Capitol.
At the conference there
were numerous breakout sessions on a variety of mental
health topics.
Read more about this
conference.
July 2010 -
Notes from the Mental Health Courts Conference
On June 8, NAMI BA Board
member Carol Ziolo and I had the opportunity to attend the
Mental Health Courts Conference, sponsored by the Illinois
Mental Health Courts Association, at the College of DuPage.
The good news coming out of
the conference is that as mental health courts are expanding
across the state, mental health courts are beginning to
provide a real opportunity to improve mental health care in
Illinois. The bad news is that judges in
mental health courts are facing the same problems that many
of us face – lack of adequate funding for mental health
resources.
Read more about this
conference.
June 2010 -
Arlington Heights Turns Its Back on Supportive Housing
On Monday May 17, the
Arlington Heights Village Board said “no” to supportive
housing for individuals with mental illness. By a 4-3 vote
the trustees rejected a request for the zoning necessary for
a project initiated by the North/Northwest Suburban Task
Force on Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental
Illness to proceed.
Click here for
more details on Supportive Housing in Arlington
Heights.
