B E H AV I O R A L H E A LT H
NEWS & EVENTS
Volume 2, Issue 2
Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations (TAMHO)
April 2014
Message from the Executive Director
Advocacy. We often hear about the importance
of advocacy in the human services world. I have
heard it said recently that the political climate has
become so divided that advocacy efforts are a
waste of time. I have come to believe that when
the system is divided, advocacy is more important
than ever.
Throughout this issue you will find examples of
how advocacy has recently changed the opinion
Ellyn Wilbur
or decision of policymakers. One such example is
Executive Director
the continuation of Peer Support Center funding.
TAMHO
When it appeared that this funding would be cut
from the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
budget, hundreds of individuals contacted their legislators to explain
that Peer Support Centers are places where people work on their
individual recovery with the support of others with lived experience.
They explained that for 3,500 individuals that are served by a Peer
Support Center each day, it is a place of hope and healing, and their
lives would be negatively impacted without them. As a result, Peer
Support Center funding was included in the Governor’s Budget. We
are hopeful that the General Assembly will keep the funding in place.
There are two great recent examples of the impact of advocacy on the
National stage. First, when it was proposed that certain categories of
medications that are used to treat individuals with mental health or
substance use disorders would be stripped of their protected
Medicare Part D status, meaning that certain medications would be
not be covered for people with Medicare, more than 1,000 members
of the mental health and addictions community contacted leaders in
Congress. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decided
not to proceed with their plan. And finally, the recent passage of the
“Excellence in Mental Health Act” is a great example of the
importance of advocacy. This Act would increase access to mental
health and substance use services, while creating high standards for
community services. After decades of funding cuts, this $900 million
infusion of funding will create demonstration sites in eight states.
The passage of this Act comes after hundreds of advocates across the
country have met with their Congressional representatives to make
sure they understand the impact of this Act and the hope that comes
with it.
We must make sure that our local and national policymakers
understand what is at stake for people in need and that they hear
about it directly from their constituents. When our system seems
divided, the budget is insufficient, and the political mood is somber,
we must remember that it is even more important than ever to
advocate for what we know is important. It is our right and it is our
responsibility.
TNCODC and TDMHSAS Partner in Conducting the
2014 Co-Occurring Disorders Symposium
Tennessee initiates the launch of a statewide integrated system of care
AUTHOR & CONTRIBUTOR:
Kenneth Minkoff, MD, ZiaPartners,
Inc., San Rafeal, California (Clinical
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at
Harvard) [Consultant & Speaker:
TNCODC/TDMHSAS 2014 CoOccurring Disorders Symposium]
On April 1 (no fooling!), in Nashville during the 2014
Co-Occurring Disorders Symposium, the Tennessee
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services (TDMHSAS), in partnership with the
Tennessee Co-occurring Disorders Collaborative
(TNCODC), launched a process to develop an
integrated system of care statewide.
For the past two years, TNCODC has been working
across the state to provide education and increase
awareness of the importance of addressing the
needs of individuals, families, and communities with
any combination of mental health and substance
use issues. As a result of the work of the
Collaborative, and as a result of the success of the
TAMHO data warehouse in providing more accurate
information about the prevalence of co-occurring
disorders, some important facts have emerged.
First, individuals and families with co-occurring
mental health and substance issues (who also
commonly have health issues and a myriad of social
problems such as legal, housing, parenting, and
disability issues) are associated with poor outcomes
and high costs, and therefore need to be a priority
for system level attention. Second, not only are
these individuals and families doing poorly, there
are a lot of them; according to our data (which is
probably under-reported) over 60% of individuals in
either MH or SA services have a current or previous
Inside this issue:
TAMHO ADVOCACY
DAYS
4
COALITION DAY ON
THE HILL
5
STATEWIDE
HAPPENINGS
6
NATIONAL
HAPPENINGS
6
TAMHO MEMBER
ORGANIZATION
HAPPENINGS
9
GOVERNOR HASLAM
ANNOUNCES
REVISIONS TO STATE
BUDGET
12