House Establishes July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Month

May 27, 2008

NAMI is happy to announce that on May 21st the House passed H. Con. Res. 134, a resolution establishing July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Albert Wynn [D-MD] and cosponsored by a large bipartisan group, was passed in recognition that:

	Improved access to mental health treatment and services and public awareness of mental illness are of paramount importance;
	There is an important need for improved access to care, treatment, and services for those diagnosed with severe and persistent mental health disorders and improved public awareness of mental illness; and
	An appropriate month should be recognized as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month to enhance public awareness of mental illness and mental illness among minorities.

NAMI is extremely grateful for this showing of bipartisan support for mental health awareness in minority communities and for the important recognition of the life of Bebe Moore Campbell - an accomplished author, advocate and co-founder of NAMI Urban Los Angeles who passed away in November 2006.

In 2003, Bebe received NAMI's Outstanding Media Award for Literature for the book Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry, written especially for children, about a young girl who learns how to cope with her mother's bipolar illness. In 2005, her novel 72-Hour Hold focused on an adult daughter and a family's experience with the onset of mental illness. It helped educate Americans that the struggle often is not just with the illness, but with the healthcare system as well.

Learn More

	Click here for more details on H. Con. Res. 134 including the full text of the resolution.
	Read NAMI's letter of support for this important resolution here.
	Access NAMI fact sheets and other resources related to issues in multicultural mental health here.

Senate Approves Emergency Spending Bill, Rejecting Cuts to Medicaid!

May 23, 2008

On Thursday the Senate, by a margin of 75-22, approved a package of emergency funding for the current fiscal year that includes an amendment stopping Medicaid regulations that would severely impair the ability of states to finance critical mental illness services. The future of the supplemental funding bill is uncertain. A presidential veto has been threatened against any supplemental funding that is beyond the Administration’s requests for military spending. After next week’s Memorial Day recess, House and Senate leaders will be meeting to decide when and how to send the measure on to the president.

This is an important victory in the ongoing effort to stop the seven proposed Medicaid regulations, including those limiting case management and rehabilitation that are central to publicly funded mental illness treatment and support services for both children and adults. Now bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate are on record in favor of imposing moratoria on these regulations. Your voice has made a real difference!

The Senate package also includes a range of other funding for priorities important to NAMI. Among these are:

	$96 million rent subsidies for permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for Louisiana and Mississippi ($76 million for Louisiana and $20 million for Mississippi) – these are supportive housing units targeted to current and formerly homeless individuals with mental illness in communities still devastated by the 2005 hurricanes,
	$475 million for VA Polytrauma Centers,
	$400 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and
	$275 million for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to upgrade safety and inspections.

How Did Your Senators Vote?

Click here to view the tally from the Senate's vote on HR 2642.

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For further background information on the proposed Medicaid regulations, click here.

National Alliance on Mental Illness

Legislative Updates

Senate Approves Emergency Spending Bill, Rejecting Cuts to Medicaid!

How Did Your Senators Vote?

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