Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc.
(Publication Archives)

Friday Fax from Albany

Enthusiastic responses to MHANYS’ Legislative Conference are pouring in every day from legislators and MHAs. Our Legislative Conference is shaping up to be a great day for all who attend. Additional information is available on our website, or by contacting Michael Seereiter at (518) 434-0439, ext. 21 or mseereiter@mhanys.org.

The Stigma of Mental Illness: The President’s New Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health, released in 2003, indicated that one out of every two people with serious mental illness will not enter the mental health system. According to the report, the major reason that they do not enter the system is because of the stigma associated with mental illness. Can you blame them?

All you have to do is turn on the television, go to a movie or read the newspaper to see how individuals with mental illness are portrayed in the media—violent and aggressive. One of the most popular sweatshirts on the market is one that reads “Psych Ward”. Stigma even influences how kids talk to each other. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have overheard at my son’s school, Little League game, basketball games, etc., where kids describe each other as ‘psycho,’ ‘loony,’ ‘nuts,’ etc.

Advertisers often make fun of people with psychiatric disabilities. Many of you are probably familiar with the ‘Crazy For You’ bear from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. The Bear even comes in a straightjacket, with its own commitment papers. It took weeks of protest from Vermont Association for Mental Health, NAMI and even intervention by the Vermont Governor James Douglas before they stopped producing the bear. Even many of the media stories about the ‘Crazy For You’ bear were often condescending and misinformed.

I don’t think reducing the stigma of mental illness is about political correctness; I think it’s about educating the public that people with mental illness live in the community as productive members of our society. The more mental illness is kept in the shadows, the more likely we will never move forward as a strong movement. Mental illness has become one of the last bastions of openly public negative stereotypes, and it must stop.

To eliminate the stigma of mental illness, we need to have a broad based public awareness campaign. MHANYS is supporting a tax check off in the New York State income tax that would support funding for a mental health anti-discrimination public awareness campaign. We will be working with interested parties to get possible sponsorship for this bill. We need a dedicated funding stream for an anti-stigma campaign.

No longer should people be ashamed to acknowledge that they have a mental illness!

Budget Cuts: We are continuing to raise concerns about the proposed $3.9 cut to Local Assistance. Our message is simply that if you are going to look for perceived ‘bad actors’ in the community who have high administrative costs and are not meeting deliverables then, 1) provide community providers with criteria so we know how best respond to any concerns, and 2) if funding is ultimately taken away because of administrative or programmatic issues, then keep the funding in the community by rewarding the community providers who are doing a good job.

In next week’s Friday Fax, and as a prelude to our March 7th Legislative day, we will provide you with additional information and an opportunity to weigh in with your legislators about the impact of some of the budget cuts including those to Family Health Plus, the proposed implementation of a Preferred Drug Program, as well as the Local Assistance Cuts.

‘SHU’ Bill Update from NYAPRS: Legislation that would require NYS prisons to create more appropriate and humane facilities for inmates with severe psychiatric disabilities moved one step closer to adoption with the introduction last week of identical versions of the "SHU Bill" in both houses of the NYS Legislature.

The bill, S.2207, was introduced in the Senate last Thursday by the Chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee Michael Nozzolio. It is identical to A.3926, which has been introduced and championed for the past two years by Assembly Corrections Committee Chairman Jeffrion Aubry. The Aubry bill was approved by the full Assembly last session.

The bill is commonly referred to as the 'SHU' bill because it would ban the confinement of severely psychiatrically disabled inmates in solitary confinement settings called 'special housing units.' Instead it would "establish correctional facilities that provide for the confinement and treatment of inmates with serious mental illness in a manner that is consistent with the mental health treatment needs of such inmates."

The bill would also require the state to provide correctional officers with annual training developed by the NYS Office of Mental Health.

Accordingly, the bill is being strongly backed by a unique partnership between a coalition of mental health and prisoners' rights groups (MHASC or "Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement") and the NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

MHASC's red "Boot the SHU!" buttons were displayed prominently at state legislative days sponsored recently by both NYAPRS and NAMI-NYS, both of which are leading members of MHASC.

Key elements of the proposed legislation:

Following is the bill's "justification", taken by the sponsors' bill memo:

"The incidence of serious mental illness among inmates within the state prison system has increased significantly in recent years. Currently, approximately 12 percent of the prison population, (approximately 8,000 inmates) is affected by serious mental illness.
In addition, studies have shown that when this population is disciplined using solitary confinement, inmates engage in acts of self-mutilation and commit suicide at a rate three times higher than inmates in the general prison population. Furthermore, inmates with serious mental illness often experience a continuing cycle of mental deterioration in general population or when in solitary confinement, followed by periods of in-patient care in a psychiatric hospital, followed by a return to general population or to solitary confinement.

One correctional officer described inmates who experience this phenomenon as being "like a ping pong ball, bouncing between punitive segregation and Central New York Psychiatric Facility." Other states have recognized the substantial psychological damage caused by isolation and have acted to restrict or exclude prisoners with serious mental illness from the harsh and deleterious effects of punitive segregation.

Passage of this proposed legislation would be meritorious on several levels. First, New York will join the ranks of other states that recognize the inhumanity counter-productive nature of certain forms of punishment for inmates with serious mental illness. Second, this bill will help ensure lower rates of recidivism and relapse when such prisoners are released from prison. Finally, this legislation will make our prisons easier to manage and safer for staff and inmates."

Both bills are now due to be considered by each house's Corrections Committee.

MHASC will be sponsoring its own Albany legislative day March 14. More details follow, and are also available by contacting Sean Pica at spica@cairn.org.

Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement

MHASC Legislative Day

March 14th, 2005
Albany, NY

REGISTER FOR A SEAT ON THE BUS TODAY!
Call Sean at (212) 780-1400, ext. 793

On March 14th, the Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement coalition will be hosting a Legislative Day/Rally in Albany, NY. Please join us to end the placement of psychiatrically disabled prisoners into solitary confinement or SHU. On March 14th, you will have the opportunity to:

• Attend a Press Conference
• Participate in a “BOOT THE SHU” Rally
• Meet with Elected Officials
• Change Law

BOOT THE SHU!

Project: Timmy Pt. 4

Saturday, March 12, 2005 9pm-2am at Fosters on Main Street in Allegany, NY

dj RUKKUS and dj DELTA N9NE
plus
The Showgunz with Special Guest DJ

turntable djs dropping the best of old school & new school hip hop, jungle, breaks, & rnb will be featured at this Hip Hop Event for the Enactment of Timothy's Law.

Be the first to hear RUKKUS and & D-9's new track,
"Stomping for Timothy's Law"

Door Prizes * 50/50 Raffles * CD give-aways

21 & up $3 before 10:30, $4 after 10:30, ladies free admission before 9:30

for more information, contact Ryan Deppa at (716) 945-4690
eternalbeatcoalition@hotmail.com *** www.complex39.com

See a flyer for this event

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Second Annual Walk for Mental Health

Week of May 14 – May 20, 2005

In November of 2004, several advocates from across the state walked 122 miles in support of Timothy's Law. The walk went from Warwick, NY to Albany, NY and culminated in a rally of more than than 600 individuals gathered for Mental Health Parity.

This year, two advocates involved in the Walk for Timothy’s Law in Memory of Robin Jane Desrats, Ann Berardinelli of Families with Bi-Polar Children, and Ali Zimmerman, an employee of Independent Living, Inc., are planning an annual Walk for Mental Heath during May is Mental Health Month.

During the week of May 1st through the 20th, they will be getting walkers from each county to participate in a relay-type walk from the four corners of the state, converging on Albany on the 20th.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Ann or Alexandra - e-mail the Walk Committee at mentalhealth_walkers@yahoo.com, or call Ann at (845) 566-0810 or Ali at (845) 703-1042 and they will connect you with the agency coordinating the walk in your region.

Esmonde mistates mental health burden. Letter to the Editor
Buffalo News, February 14, 2005

In his Jan. 31 column, Donn Esmonde makes reference to the high tax burden of New Yorkers and particularly the cost of Medicaid as a reason people leave our state. He singles out mental health care as unnecessarily contributing to these high costs. While it is true that New York has the highest Medicaid costs in the nation, it should also be pointed out that New York has aggressively pursued making "optional" services reimbursable under Medicaid, thus shifting 50 percent of the cost to the federal government. Otherwise, many of these medically necessary services would show up as being a 100 percent charge to the state.

New York has taken advantage of the federal Medicaid rules to bring more services to more persons living in the community and receiving community mental health care, which is far cheaper and more humane than expensive institutional care. Unfortunately, we have not downsized our state-run system of psychiatric hospitals to keep pace with the shift to community care. Consequently, we've not realized the full impact of savings that would normally be associated with community care.

The implication is that mental health care is frivolous. Nothing could be more mistaken. Mental illness affects one in five children, adults and older persons in any given year. The economic costs alone are staggering. Depression costs employers $44 billion dollars a year in lost productivity.

We know that mental illnesses are real and treatable, as well as being common. With treatment, most improve. Esmonde's article casts a dark shadow both on the reality of mental illness, the effectiveness of treatment, and the cost savings associated with effective intervention.

Roger E. Stone
Executive Director,
Mental Health Association of Erie County

Conference on eating disorders draws national experts. By BoNhia Lee
Syracuse Post-Standard, February 12, 2005

Local support center works double time to prepare for conference

Ophelia's Place, the three-year-old support center in Liverpool for people with eating disorders, later this month will host a statewide conference bringing together experts from across the country and hundreds of people concerned about the disease.

The Feb. 24 and 25 conference at the Oncenter is the latest indication of how the group has grown since Mary Ellen Clausen quit her job in 2002 to focus on the problem. Since then, the support group has attracted dozens of participants a week, moved to its own building in Liverpool and even helped inspire the state Legislature to create centers across New York to treat those suffering from eating disorders.

Clausen and the Ophelia's Place staff have been working nearly double time to organize the conference.

They thought it would be a good way to end a yearlong campaign raising awareness on eating disorders. And it would be a chance to bring statewide resources together to provide better care for sufferers.

The campaign was made possible through a partnership with Clear Channel Communications, which ran several radio commercials turning attention on the diseases; a sponsorship from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield; and grant secured by state Sen. John DeFrancisco.

Ophelia's staff declined to say how much Excellus provided. The state grant for $20,000 helped pay for the conference.

As of Friday, about 200 people had signed up for the event. More than 7,000 registration forms were mailed to medical professionals, community leaders, school officials and others affected by eating disorders. The registration deadline has been extended to Tuesday.

Presenters from across the country will speak during 21 sessions on issues such as how to recognize eating disorders, treatment, obesity and bariatric surgery and body myths.

"It's going to be a great opportunity for people to learn more about eating disorders," said Jodie Schafran, program director at Ophelia's. "We're still getting calls and faxes all day long. It's really exciting."

Helping people find information on eating disorders has always been Clausen's main goal. It was something she needed when her two daughters suffered from the disease.

That's why Clausen left her job as vice president of Custom Logo and started the organization in a small church office in Liverpool. A year later, Clausen began organizing support groups and moved to a house at 115 Second St. Now, Ophelia's Place employs two full-time workers and added a part-time position to help coordinate the conference.

"I don't know if we have more eating disorders or more people are talking about it," Clausen said.

Half a dozen people attended Ophelia's first series of support meetings. There are now five support groups during the week. That's up to 15 people a day and close to 75 people a week.

Clausen estimates that Ophelia's Place has helped 1,500 people over the last year through support group meetings, phone calls, referrals and lectures that Clausen and volunteers conduct around Central New York.

"I saw Ophelia's as this nice, small safe haven, but I didn't have the vision that we would be reaching out to others," Schafran said. "It's been a major change."

People recognize the effort. That's why the state Legislature passed a bill in June to create at least three comprehensive-care centers across New York dedicated to treating eating disorders.

The state Department of Health will be in charge of each center. The centers will provide information, referral and treatment services on eating disorders to the public and to medical providers and insurers. They also will be responsible for research, education and public awareness.

The centers also will be authorized to develop special programs tailored to the needs of people with eating disorders.

Until next time, we remain,
Working to ensure available and accessible
mental health services for all New Yorkers