Mental
Health Association in New York State, Inc. |
Friday Fax from Albany
PDL Phone-In a Success: Over the past week, advocates of all types joined in the Phone-In To Save Your Prescription Drugs letting their Legislators and the Governor know that the negative aspects of the Governor's Preferred Drug Program (PDP), as proposed in his budget proposal, are unacceptable. Initial reports from those within the Legislature are that the message was heard, loud and clear. As we move forward, the message must continue to get through, that any PDP is unacceptable. Otherwise, we could find ourselves in a similar situation to that of Florida mental health advocates, as they learned a couple of weeks ago that an exemption is only good for the year it was created. On April 30, on the last day of Session, the Florida Legislature slipped through a piece of language that eliminated the mental health exemption in their PDP. Samaritans To Hold 6th Annual Hope Candlelight Vigil on May 20th:On May 20, 2004, the Samaritans Suicide Prevention Center will hold its 6th Annual Hope Candlelight Vigil. This event not only memorializes the lives that have been tragically lost to suicide (through the faces on the NYS 1998 - 2004 LifeKeeper Memory Quilts), but will also work to save future lives through sharing, courage, and the commitment to the prevention of suicide. In addition, the Vigil serves to recognize those individuals dedicated to the prevention of suicide through the Annual LifeKeeper Memory Award. This year’s LifeKeeper Awards will be presented to NYS Assemblymember, and Timothy’s Law sponsor, Paul Tonko and Albany County Legislator E. Nancy Wiley. To RSVP for the Vigil, or for more details, go to http://timesunion.memlink.com/default.aspx?xsubmittype=GoSite&xsubmit=7002222 or see below. 6th
Annual Hope Candlelight Vigil 6:00 pm ~ Gather at Crowne Plaza (Albany) 6:30
pm ~ Silent Walk Welcome Prayer/Moment of Silence Remembering Reading of Names 7:00
pm ~ Reception/LifeKeeper Awards Presentation to In the News: Mental
health advocates rally to support bill. By Norah E. Machia Timothy's Law would require equal insurance coverage for mental health, substance abuse services A group of north country mental health advocates and consumers will hold a rally this afternoon in support of Timothy's Law, a bill that would require insurance companies to provide equal coverage for mental health and substance abuse services. The proposed law is named after Timothy O'Clair, a 12-year-old Rotterdam boy who hanged himself in his bedroom closet in March 2001. His father, Thomas O'Clair, is one of the scheduled speakers for the rally, said Elizabeth A. Patience, statewide systems advocate for the Northern Regional Center for Independent Living, 165 Mechanic St. Timothy O'Clair's family spent five years trying to get services to treat his depression, but were faced with mental health coverage limits on their insurance policy. "Timothy's law would require employers, if they have health insurance, to have equal coverage for mental and physical health problems," Ms. Patience said. The rally is planned for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. outside the Dulles State Office Building. Advocates and consumers will march with signs from the NRCIL office to the Washington Street building, Ms. Patience said. The event is one of several being held as part of Children's Mental Health Week, she said. Other speakers include Aileen Martin, director of NRCIL, and Larry D. Tingley, county director of community services. There will also be an "open mike" to allow any advocates or consumers to speak about the issue, she said. "We have spent more than eight years fighting for mental health parity in this state," Ms. Patience said. "It's been a long, hard fight. We're hoping to see something pass this year." The mental health parity bill passed the Assembly in a 139-11 vote last year but didn't come to a vote in the Senate before summer recess. "The Senate is working on a version of the bill, but it hasn't been released yet," Ms. Patience said. Those who support the law, including the National Association of Social Workers, claim passage of the bill in New York would result in insurance rates increasing only $1.26 per month per person to provide parity for mental health and substance abuse coverage. The bill is being opposed by some business and insurance companies, however, which have claimed the law would drive rates much higher. NRCIL is also sponsoring a string of events and fielding a number of promotional tables to provide information about bullying and the impact bullies have on children's mental health. "Bullying is a bigger issue now than in years past," said Kathy L. Connor, a family advocate with the NRCIL. She cited a statistic that approximately 160,000 children skip school each day to avoid contact with a bully. The center has sponsored events during Children's Mental Health Week in the past, but has never before focused on bullying. Mrs. Connor said that bullying is an important issue to address with both children and parents because the effects of bullying on children's mental health can last throughout a person's adulthood. "A lot of times, children who are bullied become bullies," Mrs. Connor said. The center will staff tables with information on bullying and other issues regarding children's mental health from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the St. Lawrence Centre mall, Massena, and from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the North Country Children's Clinic, Watertown. (Times staff writer Kate DeForest contributed to this report.)
Timothy's Law - A Grass Roots Campaign. By Joleene DesRosiers In a time when health insurance costs are at an all time high, advocating for further coverage may seem far-fetched for some. But not for Thomas O'Clair. Today he took his cause up in Watertown, and is only two senators away from making his bill a reality. Thomas O'Clair lost his 12-year-old son Timothy to suicide in 2001 and has been fighting to pass a bill that would cover those with mental illnesses and chemical dependencies. Timothy suffered from a mental illness. Thomas says there many people out there that may suffer from the same thing, and too many are oblivious to it. “The person they're working next to may suffer from a mental illness that they don't know about. It's wider spread than most people know,” O’Clair said. And if people don't know, he tells them about his son. I tell them Timothy's story. The same story that's on the website, www.timothyslaw.org. I tell them that I suffer from a mental illness. I suffer from and deal with depression daily,” O’Clair said. The bill was passed in the assembly by a landslide vote for the second year in a row. In the senate, all are on board but two senate majority leaders. O’Clair says he feels those senators may feel that passing the bill would be costly. “There have been concerns that Timothy's Law would be too expensive. That it would break the state, or force more people to go uninsured. That's just not true. Timothy's Law would cost $1.26 per member, per month to be covered under insurance,” O’Clair said. Jefferson County Legislator Scott Gray was at the rally, as well as Assemblywoman DeDe Scozzafava and Senator Jim Wright. “It really becomes a question of affordability. And that's what we need to do, is to achieve a balance that doesn't force businesses and employers to give up their health insurance,” Senator Wright told the NewsWatch on Thursday.
Stopping
predators. Letter to the Editor Five-year-old Brittany Fish's abductor is still at large, although a sketch of his face is making its way around the nation. If he is a Level 3 sexual offender, he is the most dangerous kind of abuser, whom the courts believe is likely to strike again. Therein lies the problem. If there is a high probability that the most violent sexual offenders (the estimate is near 50 percent) will prey on someone else, then every reasonable and responsible means must be used to stop them from doing so. Consider that there are 23 Level 3s in Syracuse alone and 86 in Onondaga County. A state Assembly spokesperson says about 400 offenders in this category are released into communities every year. State officials must move in one accord on this issue. Last week, the Senate passed legislation that would allow for "civil commitment" of violent sexual offenders, meaning they can be held indefinitely in another facility for counseling and treatment, after they complete a sentence. The governor's office backs this proposal, but a state Senate spokesman said the Assembly has not supported this legislation. The Assembly is concentrating on determent, punishment and longer sentences for sexual offenders, although it will continue to "review additional measures," said a spokesperson. In the meantime, the Assembly is criticizing the governor's office for not fully supporting Megan's Law and reclassifying some sexual offenders. Megan's Law requires that all convicted sexual offenders register with the state - although the court has said that offenders who committed their crimes before 1996 - nearly 8,000 - do not have to register. The governor's office says it is trying to work out a settlement with the court to register these offenders and is pushing for expansion of the registry and closing other loopholes in the law. All three entities have to put politics aside, strengthen existing laws and come up with enforceable regulations. The idea of civil commitment is worth considering, but what about treatment programs when offenders are in jail? A federal court just struck down a state program that punished inmates who refused to reveal past sexual offenses - but the judge did not suggest that all such programs were illegal. One thing is clear: If potentially dangerous sexual offenders are living among us, then it is critical that officials do everything in their power to keep them from hurting anyone else - especially a child.
Until
next time, we remain, |