 |
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
||
April 10, 2006 MHANYS ART EXHIBIT LIFE: A WORK OF ART: Join the Mental Health Association in New York State for their fundraising event, Life: A Work of Art, a collection of artwork from New York State artists who have, at one time in their lives, been a consumer of mental health services or had a loved one affected by mental illness. These artists make valuable contributions to the arts community and are working to change community misconceptions about people living with mental illness. For one evening, travel with them on their life’s journey as they reveal all of life’s miracles, beauty and joy. If you are an interested artist, download the Call for Art for guidelines and submission form. MHANYS is also sponsoring a silent auction of donated artwork from artists statewide with proceeds supporting our effort towards reducing stigma. Admission: $25.00; Seniors/Students: $10; No charge for recipients of mental health services. Artists’ work will be available for sale, so please bring cash or check.
More information is available by calling (518) 434-0439. IN THE NEWS: We applaud the strong stance of Jacki Brownstein, Executive Director of the MHA in Dutchess County, in combating the stigmatizing remarks of a Poughkeepsie city councilwoman. Jacki has shown once again why she is such a dedicated and compassionate advocate on behalf of individuals with psychiatric disabilities Mental
health agency blasts city leader - Councilwoman is accused of
discrimination. By Michael Valkys Jacki Brownstein, executive director of the Mental Health Association in Dutchess County, accused City of Poughkeepsie Councilwoman Mary Solomon of fanning "the flames of discrimination and prejudice" with her opposition to the group's pending move to new offices on Mansion Street. Solomon wrote to an association board member in March stating her opposition to the new location, which has been approved by the city planning and zoning boards. Solomon wrote she admires the association for its work, but that the city is "awash already with special-needs residents" and does not need another site that would attract mental health clients who might cause problems for neighbors. "We need more ordinary citizens," Solomon wrote, "who work, pay taxes, vote and worry about good schools and litter." Keeping site on tax rolls She also said the city needs to retain tax-paying properties and the Mansion Street site would be better suited for clean industry or affordable housing. Solomon also wrote the Mansion Street site might have been selected because neighborhood residents would not oppose the plan. "I sense a sort of cynicism in choosing 253 Mansion Street," Solomon wrote. "It is a neighborhood that is not likely to fight back, whose residents may be told 'what they want or need' and who will endure the insults to their intelligence on the part of MHA and county government because they feel powerless." Solomon concluded her letter to the group with "I would be happy to work with any group or committee to find a site for the Mental Health Association that is not within the boundaries of the City of Poughkeepsie." Brownstein replied to Solomon in a March 31 letter. "I am appalled by your discriminatory remarks leveled against the people served by the Mental Health Association in Dutchess County, by your lack of understanding of the organization and our programs, by the impugning of the integrity of an organization that has served this community and its citizens well for over 50 years and by your willingness to level accusations without having studied the record. This is especially troublesome since you are an elected official in this city," she wrote. Solomon, D-6th Ward, was elected in November and is a longtime board member of the Poughkeepsie Housing Authority. The Mansion Street site is not located in Solomon's ward, but she said Thursday she stands by her opposition to the project and her right to speak out. "I'm very sorry to see any property removed from the tax rolls," Solomon said. The association will purchase the property in an effort to save money in the long run. The agency now leases space in two locations. Councilman John Tkazyik, R-3rd Ward, represents the neighborhood the association will soon call home. He said the move is supported by local residents and churches, and that the agency will be a solid addition to the area. "I was upset and embarrassed," Tkazyik said of Solomon's comments about the project. Officials said the Mansion Street building is more than a century old, and once home to a button factory. Its last occupant, Praxair Electronics, moved out last summer. Brownstein said the mental health association will pay $9,000 per year to the city under a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement. In her letter to the councilwoman, Brownstein chastised Solomon for claiming the city needs to attract more ordinary citizens. "I don't know what you mean by 'ordinary' citizens, since all the people we serve have a place in the community, many of whom are poor and many of whom in the City of Poughkeepsie are minorities," Brownstein wrote. "The great majority who live in the city have done so for many years." Struggling population Brownstein said Solomon's comments "stigmatize a population who already struggle with a serious disease and motivates the general public to fear, reject, avoid and discriminate against people with mental illness." The Mansion Street site will hold agency offices now located on Haight Avenue in the Town of Poughkeepsie and Washington Street in the city. The new location would offer intake services to some association clients, but it will not be a residential site. "It's not a program site," Brownstein said Thursday. She said the office will have about 50 to 60 employees there on a daily basis and that much of the association's work is done outside the office, in the community. Renovations to the building could begin by early summer and the agency could occupy its new quarters early next year. Brownstein said she felt compelled to respond to Solomon's comments because of the stigma mentally ill residents often face. "I was very angry," she said. Solomon said Thursday she was "surprised by the bombast" in Brownstein's letter. Solomon reiterated her belief the association does "good work," but that Mansion Street is not the place for it. "I have a right to say my feelings and she has a right to say hers," Solomon said of Brownstein. Mental
health remarks hurtful A City of Poughkeepsie councilwoman's remarks about the mentally ill were entirely inappropriate, and she should be admonished by the rest of the board and the mayor. Mary Solomon's lack of sensitivity in this case is appalling. The councilwoman wrote a letter in opposition of the Mental Health Association in Dutchess County's choice for a new location. She is concerned about more land coming off the tax rolls, then went on to say the city is "awash already with special-needs residents" and that it needs "more ordinary citizens who work, pay taxes, vote and worry about good schools and litter." Jacki Brownstein, executive director of the Mental Health Association, roundly rejected Solomon's views, and did so in clear terms. She pointed out the association has agreed to a payment in lieu of taxes that equals the city tax rate paid by the current landowner. While the mental health association will employ between 50 and 60 employees and will have clients coming in and out of the building, it will not serve as a residential site. The association is consolidating several offices into a new one on Mansion Street. Adding to 'discrimination and prejudice' More to the point, Brownstein objected to the tone of Solomon's letter, saying the language fans "the flames of discrimination and prejudice." Brownstein is right. She also raised an issue that is often overlooked — "untreated mental illness results in millions of dollars in lost productivity." The association offers an array of services, from one-on-one personal care to community education, family support, rehabilitation services and help for the homeless. Solomon does have a legitimate point that the city has a high percentage of property off the tax rolls — about 46 percent. Those lands include a hospital, churches, schools and nonprofit organizations. She also said she admires the work of the mental health association but felt compelled to make her feelings known about the new location. Nevertheless, as a city leader, Solomon could have raised any concerns she has without being so callous. Common Council members and Mayor Nancy Cozean should speak out against Solomon's remarks, which were written on the city's letterhead. They add to a hurtful stigma about mental illness, and that must not be tolerated. In the future, the councilwoman should choose her words more wisely. Timothy's
Law opponents should be ignored We would like to clarify a point articulated by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno included in your March 20th "Capital Confidential" column regarding Timothy's Law. In the article, Senator Bruno claimed to have the support of "85 percent of the advocates." Senator Bruno also stated that the only person who does not support Senator (Thomas) Libous' bill is Tom O'Clair, the father of Timothy, for whom Timothy's Law is named. This is inaccurate. Though we were appreciative of the Senate majority's efforts last year to reach a compromise on Timothy's Law, the hundreds of organizations in the Timothy's Law campaign have been unable to support parity bills passed by the Senate majority because they do not address many of the concerns of people in need of mental health and addiction treatment. By now, the arguments against Timothy's Law (mental health insurance parity) should have very little credence. Of the 36 states that currently have mental health insurance parity, not one of those states has ever provided data that would substantiate the assertion that the cost of parity between physical and mental health insurance coverage has led to any changes in the cost of insurance coverage. It is time that we stopped looking at phony smoke-screen arguments that have been countered by numerous reputable studies and the experiences of 36 other states and the federal government where parity has been successfully implemented. Instead we should focus on improving the lives of millions of New Yorkers by passing Timothy's Law A. 2912-a and S. 6735-a PAIGE
PIERCE Out
of 'The Box' - Solitary confinement of mentally ill inmates needs
to be stopped, in the name of humanity The horror stories never stop, not as long as New York's prisons persist in the inhumane treatment of mentally ill inmates by confining some of them to the isolation and deprivation of the disciplinary cells known as "The Box." At the state Capitol last week, more witnesses came forward to urge the Legislature and the governor to abandon that practice. One former inmate, who suffers from bipolar disorder, talked of the absolute indignity and despair of her time in The Box, which she said was punishment for throwing a cup of water at a prison guard. Another woman talked about her son's suicide after six months in The Box at Fishkill Correctional Facility. That inmate suffered from manic-depressive illness. Some inmates, no doubt, belong in the special cells for the most dangerous and incorrigible criminals. But not anyone who's mentally ill. Yet the Correctional Association of New York, a prisoners' advocacy group, estimates that about 25 percent of the inmates locked up that way for up to 23 hours a day are afflicted with some form of mental illness. And when inmates in The Box try to hurt or kill themselves, as they do with alarming frequency, their punishment is even more time in the very place that tends to magnify their illness. What can only work better is what some state prisons, including Great Meadow, are doing -- namely searching for an alternative, like intensive counseling sessions for mentally ill inmates. An especially effective way to encourage that is to require it, by passing a law banning mentally ill inmates from The Box. It's a noble but uphill fight in which Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, a Democrat from Queens, perseveres. He's pushing for such legislation again this session. There has been progress. What used to be a one-house effort now has support in the Senate. Last year, Sen. Michael Nozzolio, a Republican from Seneca County, emerged as an advocate for a prison policy that prefers treatment to mistreatment. The obstacles to sparing mentally damaged inmates from The Box are elsewhere in state government. There's no indication, for instance, that the governor's office would support legislation it has previously resisted. Mr. Aubry anticipates continued opposition from the state Department of Correctional Services. "No agency wants to be told what to do," he says. Politics, protocol and ego are everywhere in Albany, of course. But banishing mentally ill inmates to some of the most brutal prison conditions imaginable ought to be seen as a matter of human rights, not a bureaucratic turf battle. N.Y.
Assembly Passes Bill To Eliminate Solitary Confinement Of Inmates
With Mental Illness New York advocates are pleased that the state Assembly last month passed legislation to eliminate the use of solitary confinement for inmates with psychiatric disabilities. While encouraged that this bill has passed the Assembly for the second year in a row, advocates are awaiting Senate action on an identical bill, which they said continues to stall in committee. Advocates would like to see the Senate make a move on their identical legislation, S.2207, which is currently in the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction committee. New York advocates and disability rights groups have long called for the end of solitary confinement of prisoners with psychiatric disabilities in the New York State prison special housing units (SHUs), often referred to as ‘the box.’ They have been working for enactment of legislation to ensure that the practice of placing prisoners with psychiatric disabilities into solitary is abolished and that there are sufficient beds and mental health staff to meet the needs of inmates with mental illness. The Assembly bill, A.3926, would also provide for an oversight committee by the New York State commission on quality care for the mentally ill and would provide for an assessment of inmates subjected to solitary confinement. The legislation, commonly referred to by advocates as the ‘SHU bill,’ would also create psychiatric correctional facilities and transitional services programs for state inmates with severe mental illness. The purpose of the bill is to establish residential treatment programs that provide for the treatment and confinement of inmates with serious mental illness in a manner that is consistent with both the mental health treatment needs of the inmates and the safety and security of the facility. The bill also calls for 40 hours of initial training for all correctional staff working in residential mental health treatment programs. Eight hours of annual training would also be given to all correctional staff departmentwide, according to the bill. The incident of serious mental illness (SMI) among inmates within the state prison system has increased in recent years, according to the legislation. Currently, 12 percent of the prison population (approximately 8,000 inmates) is affected by serious mental illness. This bill would help ensure lower rates of recidivism and relapse when prisoners with serious mental illness are released from prison, the legislation stated. Pushing for support Several New York advocacy and consumer groups, including the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) and members of Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement (MHASC), gathered in Albany last month to push lawmakers to support the bill. “We don’t have any time to waste,” Vuka Stricevic, director of public policy for Community Access, told MHW. The New York City-based not-for-profit agency provides housing and support services to people with psychiatric disabilities. “We’re pleased it passed the Assembly for the second year in a row,” said Stricevic. “We’re pleased it’s been introduced in the Senate. We’re very eager for it to move.” “SHUs are essentially prisons within a prison,” Harvey Rosenthal, executive director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, told MHW. “Solitary confinement is a very inhumane experience for a person with severe psychiatric disabilities. Putting them in the [SHU Box] for 23 hours a day in the dark and depriving them of social contact is just inhumane.” Inmates with mental illness “often go unrecognized, untreated or under-treated and the symptoms of these conditions show up in their behaviors, which are wrongfully interpreted as willful criminal action,” said Rosenthal. Inmates’ sentences are often disrupted when they’re in solitary confinement and they can end up in SHU for weeks, months or even years, he said. Advocates would be happy if Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio (R-N.Y.), chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee, would move the bill, (S. 2207), out of committee, said Rosenthal. “We’re encouraged by Sen. Nozzolio’s intent and interest in this issue,” he said, adding that he hopes the legislation will garner the full support of the Senate. Looking for support from corrections Meanwhile, advocates have a planned meeting with the Commissioner of the New York State Commission of Correction, said Rosenthal. Based on the training and safety-related provisions in the bill, advocates are hopeful corrections officers will support the legislation, Rosenthal said. “We think this legislation is a win-win for corrections officers and prisoners with severe psychiatric disabilities,” said Rosenthal. “It can significantly improve prison safety and cut down on the amount of distress and the amount of need for solitary confinement for this particular population.” Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-N.Y.), sponsor of A3926, said he is hopeful that the New York State Corrections Union will support the legislation. “Due to the increase in the prison population of individuals with mental illness, the union recognizes the need for training,” Aubry told MHW. The Corrections Union has been somewhat supportive of the bill because of the increase in training for corrections officers to deal with individuals with mental health problems, said Aubry. Aubry added, “Since the population growth [of inmates with mental illness], the union recognizes the need to prepare their membership for that relationship.” “Change is incremental in this business,” said Aubry. “The first battle is to get the bill through your own House. The second battle is to find agreement with the Senate. That’s the big battle. Corrections officers have a significant influence on the Senate because a lot of the prisons are built in Republican Senate districts.” Aubry said lawmakers are trying to work with advocates to present a bill that represents good mental health practices in correctional facilities. “Essentially, we don’t want the state to utilize the SHU box as a way of dealing with inmates with mental illness who have violated prison regulations,” said Aubry. “We don’t want to see any individuals with mental illness in SHU confinement.” Long-term
solitary ban for mentally ill inmates stalls in Albany. By
Cara Matthews ALBANY — The fate of a bill to prohibit long-term solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners was uncertain last week because its Senate sponsor has failed to move it out of a committee he heads. Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, Seneca County, leads the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee, where the legislation sits. Nozzolio did not return numerous phone calls seeking comment Friday. Advocates have decried treatment received by prison inmates who are punished as a result of behaviors caused by their symptoms, including hallucinations, confusion, depression and paranoia. Many are placed in solitary confinement indefinitely, where their mental health further deteriorates as they spend 23 or 24 hours a day in barren concrete cells, groups trying to change the system say. The bill would require dedicated residential units within prisons for people with psychiatric disorders and specialized training for prison guards in how to work with people with severe mental illness. "I think it makes for both a more humane and safer corrections system and, quite frankly ... it makes for a safer community (after their release)," said Assembly Corrections Committee Chairman Jeffrion Aubry, D-Queens. The Assembly bill passed 135-7 on March 27. Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, said he is co-sponsoring the bill to give the state Department of Correctional Services more ways to help mentally ill inmates. He is chairman of the Senate's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee. "It's a very good bill. It's really needed," he said. "I'm not faulting the correction department by putting this in. It's more to assist them." Prisoners with mental illnesses in New York are more likely to be placed in solitary than those who don't have psychiatric problems, says the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of New York. While 11 percent of the approximately 63,000 inmates in the state are mentally ill, about 25 percent of those in solitary confinement are mentally ill, the group says. Solitary is officially called a "special housing unit," but it is also known as "the box." The Department of Correctional Services and the Office of Mental Health have a pilot program of special behavioral housing units to help prisoners with mental illness, said Denny Fitzpatrick, spokesman for the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association. It's too soon to tell whether the units — in Great Meadow in Comstock, Washington County, and Sullivan in Fallsburg, Sullivan County — are successful, Fitzpatrick said. They both opened less than a year ago, an Office of Mental Health spokeswoman said. The Department of Correctional Services will review and comment on the legislation when a bill is final, spokesman Michael Fraser said. Sen. Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan, said he is optimistic that the Senate will act on the bill this year. "It's very much a matter of continuing to educate my colleagues who may not understand that the vast majority of the people who end up being locked in SHUs (special housing units) are those who are unable to control themselves and control their behavior, because all of the people in prison who have control over all of their mental faculties know enough not to do things that would make them end up in a SHU," he said. Advocates for ending solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners said the new behavioral housing units are a component of what's necessary. Prisoners have to go to solitary confinement before they can get into the behavioral units, and they're not only for people with psychiatric disabilities, said Harvey Rosenthal, head of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. Behavioral housing units "still have a punitive environment. We're looking for a more treatment-based environment," he said. |
||||
 |
||||
