Young and Restless Star Tears up During Interview on Son S Suicide

July 2015 – Additional Articles, Videos and Information from around the nation

‘Young and Restless Star‘ tears up during interview on son’s suicide

Advocates Seek to End Solitary Confinement Options for Young Offenders

It’s Not About Mental Illness: The Big Lie That Always Follows Mass Shootings by White Males

Mental Illness Is No Crime
CNN—May 27 | National
Jails Are No Substitute for a Mental Health System
The Hill—May 22 | National
Opinion: Jails and Prisons Are No Place to Treat Mental Illness; Just Ask Paton Blough
The Huffington Post—May 21 | National
Clinical Psychologist to Head Country’s Largest Jail: What It Means for Mental Health in the US
Medical Daily—May 21 | Illinois

The Miami Herald: Florida Pledges To Protect Inmates With Mental Illness
Inmates with mental illnesses who were once confined around the clock to a cell block filled with feces, rotten food and insects — and sometimes allegedly beaten, tortured and starved by staff — should be treated more humanely under a landmark lawsuit settlement reached this week between the Florida Department of Corrections and a statewide disability advocacy group. The agreement could have far-reaching impact. It requires the state to overhaul the way it treats inmates with mental disorders at Dade Correctional Institution, which has the largest mental health facility in the state prison system. (Brown, 5/27)

Huffington Post: Mental Illness Is A Much Bigger Problem For The Poor, New Study Shows
If you want to talk about inequality in America, you should be talking about mental illness -- and the ability of people to get treatment for it. On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new study that demonstrates, in vivid terms, something that public health experts have known for a while: Mental health problems are far more common among the poor than the rich. ... The study, whose lead author is CDC epidemiologist Judith Weissman, does not address the issue of causality -- in other words, whether mental health problems lead to more economic hardship or whether economic hardship leads to more mental health problems. But most researchers believe the process works in both directions. (Jonathan Cohn, 5/28)

The Associated Press: NY Lawmakers Reviewing Mental Health Services For Children
Legislators in New York are taking a look at the state of mental health care for children. The state Assembly plans to hold a public hearing in Buffalo on Friday focusing on the availability of services specifically in western New York. Lawmakers on the panel conducting the hearing plan to examine an ongoing effort to consolidate and merge state mental health programs. They'll also look at the impact of the potential closure of the Western New York Children's Psychiatric Center. (5/29)

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Facing Chronic Shortages, Minnesota's Mental Health System Gets A Boost
In an effort to ease chronic overcrowding of hospital psychiatric wards, the state will add 150 pediatric mental health beds in the next three years as part of an unprecedented expansion of services for children with mental illnesses. (Serres, 5/28)

MinnPost: $46M In New Funding: NAMI-MN Leader Summarizes Legislature's Mental Health Initiatives
Suicide prevention programs: $449,000. Mental health crisis services: $8.57 million. Text for Life: $1 million. Respite care for families of children with mental illness: $847,0000. It’s been a banner year for mental health advocates at the Minnesota Legislature, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle voting to support mental health initiatives with over $46 million in new funding. (Steiner, 5/27)

The Washington Post: Women Of All Ages More Likely To Have Serious Mental Health Problems Than Men, Report Says
Women in every age group in the United States were more likely than men to have serious mental health problems, according to federal health statistics released Thursday. The report from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also found that more than one-fourth of people age 65 or older who are afflicted with these mental health problems have difficulty feeding, bathing and dressing themselves. (Sun, 5/28)

The Associated Press: Demi Lovato Is The New Face Of Mental Health Campaign
When Demi Lovato was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she was actually relieved. “Growing up, I felt very, very depressed,” she said. “Even though I was playing concerts and living out my dream, I couldn’t tell you why I was upset.” Lovato is sharing her story and encouraging others to do the same through Be Vocal: Speak Up For Mental Health, an initiative launched Thursday by a pharmaceutical company, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and other mental-health advocacy groups. Its aim is to improve treatment options at all levels and erase the stigma around mental illnesses. (Cohen, 5/28)

Hidden or Unemployed: America’s Failure to get disabled people jobs

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: In Wake Of Federal Reform, Minnesota's Medicaid Enrollment Surges To 1 Million
Minnesota’s Medicaid rolls have soared past the 1 million mark for the first time, driven by two years of explosive growth in government insurance programs in the wake of federal health reform. (Howatt, 5/31)

The Des Moines Register: UIHC Launches Virtual Clinic Service For Iowans
University of Iowa Health Care launched a new virtual clinic service this week that allows Iowans to check in with health care providers through their computer, tablet or smartphone. The service, UIeCare.com, is designed for seeking medical advice about minor illnesses and injuries — conditions from allergies to yeast infection that can be characterized as urgent but not life-threatening. It charges a $50 flat fee, per use, and can be used anywhere in the state, as long as would-be patients have an Internet connection and a Web camera on their computer or mobile device. (Charis-Carlson, 5/29)

Facing Chronic Shortages, Minnesota’s Mental Health System Gets a Boost

Human Rights and Policy – Creating a Trauma Informed Policy Agenda

Connecticut Health I-Team: School Mental Health Programs See Increased Use In Connecticut
More Connecticut students report feeling sad and hopeless, and they are seeking help at school-based health clinics, as more students become aware of the services, counselors say. Their problems range from bullying to family issues to anxiety. (Mozdzer Gil, 6/1)

Op-Ed: ‘Housing First’: What LA Can Learn from Utah on Homelessness

Autistic Coders Get Jobs as Microsoft, SAP woo software sleuths

Politico Pro: Murphy Revives — And Softens — Mental Health Bill
Rep. Tim Murphy has softened his mental health bill that was meant to be a bipartisan response to the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 but was stymied in Congress by a handful of highly controversial provisions. Murphy reintroduced the revised bill on Thursday, and said in an interview he was optimistic it could move forward. But it wasn’t immediately clear that his changes went far enough to bring significant bipartisan support. (Villacorta, 6/4)

Suicide Rate of Female Military Veterans is ‘Staggering’-

Young Man Who Endured 3 Years of Prison Abuse As a Teen Without a Conviction Commits Suicide

‘I Could Have Lost My Life, too’ says driver hit by ‘shamed girl’ who jumped from bridge

The Des Moines Register: Mental Health Hospitals Dwindle As Governor Mulls Their Future
State administrators have eased off their deadline for closing two mental hospitals, which were supposed to be emptied out by next Monday. But the number of patients and employees at the hospitals continues to dwindle, as Gov. Terry Branstad considers a bill that would restore services at one of the facilities. Human Services Director Charles Palmer had repeatedly said the agency aimed to have all patients at the Clarinda and Mount Pleasant mental institutions transferred elsewhere by June 15. (Leys, 6/9)

USA Today: VA Research Uncovers Way To Find Veterans At Risk Of Suicide
The Department of Veterans Affairs has developed computer formulas that allow doctors to predict which veterans are most likely to commit suicide, according to a study published Thursday. "I think this is a game changer in terms of suicide prevention overall and not just for the VA population," said Caitlin Thompson, deputy director of the VA suicide prevention program. "I think other large medical systems are going to be able to really learn from what we're doing." (Zoroya, 6/11)

CNN: Veteran's Family Calls Report Exonerating VA A 'Whitewash'
The family of veteran Richard Miles, who killed himself after visiting a Veterans Affairs hospital in February, tells CNN that an Office of Inspector General report exonerating the VA of any poor judgments in his case a "whitewash." (Tapper, 6/11)

The Kaiser Family Foundation: Medicaid Balancing Incentive Program: A Survey Of Participating States
Eighteen states are currently participating in the Medicaid Balancing Incentive Program (BIP) to increase access to home and community-based services (HCBS) as an alternative to institutional care. Established by the Affordable Care Act, BIP authorizes $3 billion in enhanced federal funding from October 2011 through September 2015. As a condition of participation in BIP, states must implement certain structural changes and reach specific financial benchmarks by September 2015 .... States report that BIP is helping them achieve their goal of rebalancing LTSS [long-term support services] in favor of HCBS. Medicaid LTSS spending on HCBS increased in all 18 BIP states, with 14 states reporting spending growth of 25 percent or more between 2009 and 2014. (O'Malley Watts, Reaves and Musumeci, 6/5)

States and Insurers Need Time, Money to Cement Mental Health Parity Rules

Study: Substance Use Disorder a Predictor of Violent Behavior
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange—May 20 | National
Should Police Accommodate People with Mental Illness in Crisis?
National Alliance on Mental Illness—May 19 | National

Mentally Ill Inmates are Routinely Physically Abused, Study Says
The New York Times—May 12 | National

The San Jose Mercury News: Low Hospitalization Rate For California's Mentally Ill Draws Complaints
The vast majority of patients who arrive at California hospitals with a psychiatric emergency are not admitted, a situation that has prompted some mental health advocates to ask whether enough is being done to help those who may pose a threat to themselves or others. (Gafni, 6/14)

The Elgin Courier-News: East Dundee Mental Health Center To Provide Cell Phones To Patients
Cell phones are the newest tool an East Dundee healthcare center is using to help enhance its care for behavioral health patients. Aaron Bush, 7 Hills Healthcare Center administrator, said as the behavioral health program has progressed, with more than 1,000 home and inpatient visits being performed, staff realized that the mental health of patients is greatly affected by a lack of communication due to having limited minute phones or no phone at all. (Saunder, 6/14)

CQ Healthbeat: Revised Mental Health Bill Gets Conditional Endorsement
A revised version of a wide-reaching mental health bill by Rep. Tim Murphy appears to have picked up the tentative support of a group that endorsed a rival measure last year, but Democrats still have concerns about Murphy's effort. The Pennsylvania Republican said some changes will be made to the legislation (HR 2646) and expressed hope that it would be marked up soon after Tuesday’s Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing. Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts, R-Pa., said the panel would act on the legislation, which seemed to get somewhat of a warmer reception than Murphy received at that stage for a similar bill last year. (Attias, 6/16)

The Detroit Free Press: Nation Must Help Those With Serious Mental Illness
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow has been a champion for mental health care throughout her career. Her efforts paid off for the 1 in 4 Americans impacted by a serious mental illness with the passage of the Excellence in Mental Health Act. The senator’s efforts are personal and professional. Her father struggled with bipolar disorder and went undiagnosed for nearly a decade when she was growing up; that drove her passion to seek change. Her father didn’t get the treatment he needed for years, and it affected her entire family. (Watkins, 6/14)

Psychiatric hospitals miffed as Medicaid pilot funding ends

Schizophrenic Disorders: Is There An Elephant?

11 Essential Facts About Guns and Mass Shootings in the United States

Shooters of Color are called ‘terrorists’ and ‘thugs’. Why are White Shooters called “mentally Ill”?

The Des Moines Register: Mental Hospital Supporters Plead For Its Future
Supporters of the state mental hospital here made a last-ditch plea to the governor on Tuesday to sign a compromise plan that legislators passed to keep it open. Gov. Terry Branstad's administrators have been moving to close the facility and a sister hospital in Clarinda within the next few weeks. Branstad contends that the services can be provided more efficiently by private agencies or at the state's other two mental hospitals, which are in northern Iowa. Two of the three programs at the Mount Pleasant facility have been emptied, and most employees of the third program received layoff notices last week. (Leys, 6/23)

From Abuse to Adoption: Three Sisters Share Their Stories

The latest Choices in Recovery newsletter

Writing About Mental Illness is Therapeutic for Ankeny Man

Understanding Mental Health in Style

Kayley Reed and Kyle MacNevin are the founders of "Wear Your Label"--a Canadian based clothing line that starts conversations about mental health. The line features t-shirts with phrases like "Sad but Rad" and "Self Care isn't Selfish", with the goal of building and empowering healthier communities by increasing the visibility of mental health problems. "Mental illness is so personal to each of us and we've both gone through our own struggles," says Reed, "So we've decided to use that as inspiration for different designs, ways that we give back, and things that we do in our community." Readmore.

8. Judge Strikes California Law That Allowed Nursing Homes To Make Medical Decisions For Mentally Incompetent Residents

Advocates say the law has permitted homes to give anti-psychotic drugs, use restraints and withdraw treatment without allowing patients to object. But the industry warns the ruling will make it more challenging to provide routine care to such patients. (Anna Gorman, 6/26)

Remember, if you want Amazon to donate toNational Alliance On Mental Illness of Greater Des Moines, you need to start each shopping session at the URL and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases. Shop at in support of National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Des Moines

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