NAMI Barrington Area - National Alliance on Mental Illness Barrington, Illinois chapter

ADVOCACY

How to Advocate for Mental Health Services

These articles guide you through the process of effectively communicating with your states Representatives and Senators and your Illinois Legislators. From tips to write a good letter to how to register to vote to address & phone lists for your elected officials, it's all here.

December 2007 - How to Write an Effective Letter to the Editor

Letters to the editor can be a very effective way to advocate for improvements in funding for mental health programs. It’s easy to write a letter to the editor; anyone can do it. The trick is to write a letter that will get published. So here are some tips gleaned from several websites and from years of my own letter writing. Click here to read more

December 2007 - Some Suggested Facts which Might Be Worth Mentioning

When you write a letter to your legislators or a letter to the editor, here are some points you might want to include. Don’t use them all – remember to keep your letter focused – but here are some suggestions: Click here to read more

December 2007 - Supportive Housing for People with Mental Illness: Regaining a Life in the Community

Having a home is a universal human need and one that is necessary for adequate psychological health. Without a place to call home, people with mental illnesses have trouble recovering their health, becoming self-sufficient, and reclaiming valued roles in their families and communities. Unfortunately, many people with serious mental illnesses are extremely poor. As noted by The New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, poverty combined with a lack of affordable housing and support services in our Nation’s communities, causes people with mental illnesses to “cycle among jails, institutions, shelters, and the streets; to remain unnecessarily in institutions; or to live in seriously substandard housing.” Click here to read more

August 2007 - ACTION NEEDED ON PARITY ACT

An important item is percolating through Congress: the Mental Health Parity Act. We encourage all NAMI members to contact their US Congressman (for most NAMI Barrington Area members that would be either Rep. Melissa Bean or Rep. Mark Kirk) as well as Senators Durbin and Obama on this issue. Links which make contacting your legislators very easy are included in this article. Click here to read more

July 2007 - Governor hesitating on mental health bill

There is some good news from Springfield: the Illinois state legislature has just passed a bill (Senate Bill 234) which will be of great assistance in getting treatment for persons suffering from mental illness. There's a problem, however, in that our governor is hesitating to sign it into law. Click here to read more

June 2007 - Letters To The Editor.

Letters to the editor are a good way to communicate with our public officials. Two NAMI Barrington Area members had letters to the editor published in the Daily Herald recently: Larry Kluk’s letter was published on May 3 titled "More state funding for mental health" and Hugh Brady's letter was published on May 7 titled "Illinois funding for mental health lags" Click here to read more

May 2007 - Mental Health Parity Act.

Two national mental health organizations, Mental Health America and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law have joined NAMI in urging mental health advocates to contact their legislators and ask them to support HR 1424, the “Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addition Equity Act.” Click here to read more

April 2007 - Health insurance programs & parity for mental illness coverage.

Senator Edward Kennedy has introduced a bill into the Senate which would mandate that health insurance programs offer parity for mental illness coverage. Sounds great, right? Senator Kennedy’s bill would override and replace any state laws which also required insurance programs to cover mental illnesses the same way they cover other illnesses. Click here to read more.

February 2007 - Funding for Mental Health Services

Now is the time that the Governor is preparing his budget to present to the General Assembly. We are urging everyone to contact Governor Blagojevich and their state Senators and Representatives to urge increased funding for mental health services, and especially assisted housing, in Illinois. A sample letter is presented here.

Click here to view the entire article.

January 2007 - State Representative Kathy Ryg

discusses Mental Heath in Illinois. Click here to view the entire article.

November 2006 - Candidates questionnaire results

View how our local candidates feel about the many aspects of mental health care.

Click here to view the complete article.

November 2006 Legislative Update - Click here to read

October 2006 Legislative Update - Click here to read

September 2006 Legislative Update - Click here to read

June 2006 - Legislative Update: Insurance Parity

In late June Governor Blagojevich signed two bills that will improve mental health coverage provided by Illinois insurance carriers, including HMO’s. Click here to read the complete article.

House Bill 4125 - The bill’s major provision requires that all Illinois insurance providers, including HMO’s (except for employer provided coverage where the employer has 50 or fewer employees) cover serious mental illnesses the same way as they cover other diseases.

House Bill 4202 - This bill increases the number of outpatient visits for mental health treatment from 35 to 60 per year. This minimum of 60 visits supersedes the 35 set forth in HB 4125, mentioned above.