Post-Hurricane Efforts Raise Profile of Mental Disorders

Post-Hurricane Efforts Raise Profile of Mental Disorders
Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and other disasters have long-reaching affects; 57.7 million Americans experience a mental health disorder in any given year; the National Alliance on Mental Illness and other organizations, including Allsup, are raising awareness during Mental Illness Awareness Week

Belleville, IL (Vocus/PRWEB ) September 25, 2008 -- It is the storm damage that people often don't talk about--mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder that strike in the wake of a catastrophic experience.


Post-trauma mental conditions are one of many mental disorders that affect some 57.7 million Americans in any given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which is observing Mental Illness Awareness Week, Oct. 5-11, 2008. Organizations, including Allsup, which represents people nationwide for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, are helping to raise awareness about mental illnesses and the help available to people and their families.

Anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder and phobias, affect about 40 million people, NAMI reports. One in five veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (almost 300,000 troops) will experience major depression or PTSD when they return home. Other types of mental disorders also affect millions of people, including 5.7 million with bipolar disorder and 2.4 million who have schizophrenia.

"People living with mental illnesses often are among the most vulnerable in our society. Unfortunately, they also are often overlooked during disasters," said NAMI executive director Michael J. Fitzpatrick, who recently announced the creation of a NAMI Hurricane Relief Fund to help individuals and families affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
go here for more
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/9/prweb1382844.htm

NAMI fighting to stop stigma of mental illness

In this issue...
What’s In a Name? A Letter from the ADS Center
Online Resources
Research
Models, Programs, and Technical Assistance Tools… NAMI’S In Our Own Voice
In My Experience…Learning From a Troubled Genius by: Miriam Davis
What’s In a Name?
Nearly two months ago, we announced a change to the ADS Center’s name, from SAMHSA's Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma to SAMHSA's Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and, Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health. The change demonstrates a new perspective for The ADS Center. We’re focusing on recovery, wellness, and the power of individuals with mental illnesses to chart their own recovery courses, based on their strengths and goals. These elements have always been part of our work, but now they’re at the forefront.

Many of you have shared your comments and feedback about the new change, and we thank you for taking the time to write. While we had a few emails questioning the new name, the majority expressed view like these:

Fabulous! Language structures experience and intention. I love your name change and applaud the awareness and consciousness out of which it grew.
I really like the positive and “do it” attitude that the new name presents!!!!!
The new name reflects a shift in society's view of mental illness from exclusion to inclusion.
The name change is powerful. Thank you very much for your foresight and thoughtfulness in doing this. It will make a difference.
I like the way the new name stresses the positive strengths and attributes as opposed to a negative focus.

We also received emails that challenged us to go further with the name change, like this one: The name change is great. But I note that the website still is called Stopstigma and also this email. It seems a little redundant.

We agree. From now on, we have a new Web site:

http://promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/ and a

new email address: mailto:promoteacceptance@samhsa.hhs.gov

Please bookmark the site and use that new email address to stay in touch. Thank you for helping us Promote Acceptance, Dignity and, Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health.
Sincerely, The ADS Center
Online Resources
Guidance of Transformational Language

Transformation in services and supports for adults, and children and youth with mental health problems, requires a complementary transformation in the language we use to describe the people we serve. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration developed this guide to provide examples of transformational, people-first language.

Guidelines for non-handicapping language in APA journals:

Committee on disabilities issues in psychology This fact sheet provides guidelines for the use of appropriate language regarding people with disabilities.

Mind your language: Media guidelines for mental health issues

This booklet, part of the 'see me' mental health public education campaign of Scotland, provides guidelines when addressing mental illness in the media.

Module Two: Defining the Illnesses

This is a teaching module on the proper uses of psychiatric terminology. Learners understand how inaccurate portrayals and stereotypes of mental illnesses create barriers to medical treatment. This brochure is also available in its entirety from the American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.

Stigma and discrimination: Aspects of stigma

Prejduice and discrimination towards people with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, and even towards their families, is a huge problem. This Web site contains ideas put together from conferences and other academic discussions about language.

Stigma and Mental Illness

This fact sheet about labels and stereotyping demonstrates the ways in which words can hurt and the ways in which they can affirm people with mental illnesses. By juxtaposing the ways that 'words can be poison' and the ways that 'words can heal,' the document sets ups do's and don't for the appropriate use of language.

Stigma: Language matters

A fact sheet created by On Our Own of Maryland outlining appropriate and nonstigmatizing language to use when speaking about people who have mental illnesses. The fact sheet is available at onourownmd.org

Words matter

This fact sheet provides examples of appropriate and inappropriate language when discussing mental illness.

Research
Corrigan, P. Language and Stigma. Psychiatric Services. August 2006; 57:1218.
Covell, N.H., McCorkle, B.H., Weissman, E.M., Summerfelt, T. and S.M. Essock. What's in a Name? Terms preferred by service recipients. Administration and Policy in Mental Health. September 2007; 34(5):443-7. Epub 2007 Apr 27.
Folsom et al. A Longitudinal Study of the Use of Mental Health Services by Persons With Serious Mental Illness: Do Spanish-Speaking Latinos Differ From English-Speaking Latinos and Caucasians? The American Journal of Psychiatry. 2007; 164: 1173-1180
Hamilton, B. and E. Manias. 'She's manipulative and he's right off': A critical analysis of psychiatric nurses' oral and written language in the acute inpatient setting. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. June 2006; 15(2):84-92.
Levav, I., Shemesh, A.A., Kohn, R., Baidani-Auerbach, A., Boni, O., Borenstein, Y., Dudai, R., Lachman, M., and A. Grinshpoon. What is in a name? Professionals and service users' opinions of the Hebrew terms used to name psychiatric disorders and disability. The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences. 2005; 42(4):242-7.
Rose, D., Thornicroft, G. Pinfold, V., and A. Kassam. 250 labels used to stigmatise people with mental illness. BMC Health Services Research. 2007; 7: 97.
Sharma, V., Whitney, D., Kazarian, S.S., and R. Manchanda. Preferred terms for users of mental health services among service providers and recipients. Psychiatric Services. February 2000; 51(2):203-9.
Simmoons, T., Novins, D.K., and J. Allen. Words have power: (Re)-defining serious emotional disturbance for American Indian and Alaska Native children and their families. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, The Journal of the National Center. 2004 11(2): 59-64.
Models, Programs, and Technical Assistance Tools
Listening Well for Mental Health

Paula Comunelli a 2008 SAMHSA Voice Award Winner for Consumer Leadership is the founder and CEO of Listening Well, an organization that provides personal and professional development for individuals, organizations, and communities using the power of storytelling. Her diverse background includes social change advocate, entrepreneur, corporate manager, government contractor, and transformational leader. A mental health consumer in recovery, Paula works to remove prejudice and discrimination that comes from ignorance and brings different cultures and ethnicities regardless of age and gender together.

Listening Well uses a recovery philosophy to both empower consumers of mental health services, family members, and service providers, and reduce negative public perceptions of people with mental disorders through unique community storytelling retreats and mental health monologue events.

Listening Well’s goals include:
Facilitating consumers of mental health services to step further into their personal power and potential by taking them on a retreat to go through a process of helping them uncover and prepare to present the essence of their story of recovery and
Promoting transformation in members of the public or mental health system who witness these stories (at a monologue event) by impacting perceptions about the recovery capacity of people regardless of where they lie on the continuum of mental health and by reducing negative attitudes surrounding mental health issues.

Listening Well accomplishes its goals through programs that include:
The Listening Well Experience (LWE)This personal exploration is designed to deepen self-knowledge, enhance leadership capacity, and further the human experience. This workshop is for those committed to their inner and outer journey and who seek balance and wholeness in their lives. Because storytelling is a universal language, the Listening Well Experience can be delivered in any language, to any age group, and with any population. Of particular interest is developing bi-lingual, bicultural facilitators to serve monolingual populations. Along with a wellness and recovery story, some key outcomes are reclaimed lives, the realization that one is not alone, and increased personal empowerment.

Inspired Leadership This program focuses on strengths (Appreciative Inquiry) and has been successfully used with corporations, not-for-profits, government systems, groups, and individuals. Some key outcomes are discovered strengths, enhanced relationships, clarified intentions, and defined next steps to create the work, life, and world desired.

LWE Group Facilitator Certification (Train-the-Trainer)This program develops the ability to facilitate the Listening Well Experience in a group format. Participants learn the basics of modeling leadership, using self as an instrument of change, and applying cross-cultural teachings and Appreciative Inquiry. Some key outcomes are a developed and sustained learning environment, improved language and story development, and enhanced co-facilitation and feedback skills. LWE Group Facilitator Certification is provided at the close of the workshop based upon successful demonstration of core competencies.

For more information on Listening Well contact the organization at 831-421-9393 or contact@listeningwell.net You may also access the Listening Well Web site at http://www.listeningwell.net/

In My Experience… Learning From a Troubled Genius
Originally published in The Washington Post on Tuesday, December 18, 2001When 25 Years Ago the Author Met John Nash, the Nobel-Winning Schizophrenic, She Behaved Badly. She's Beginning to Understand Why.1By Miriam DavisHis shorts were a bright plaid, glaringly different from the pattern on his shirt. On his feet he wore red sneakers. On the self-consciously earth-toned Princeton campus of 1976, he stood out. "Who's that?" I asked my friends in the math department about the odd-looking figure who hung around the math area, which faced the biology lab where I'd begun working on my doctorate."Oh, that's Nash," came the reply."Who's he?" I persevered."He's crazy, but he won't hurt you." End of discussion.That was my introduction to math genius John Nash -- years before he was awarded his Nobel prize in economics, years before his recovery from schizophrenia, years before the release of the film version of his biography, "A Beautiful Mind," which is scheduled to arrive in theaters in January. And years before I began to care about the stigma of mental illness.

I didn't question my friends' dismissiveness. Nash's illness reduced him to insignificance for me, as it did for so many others.

Like them, I grew accustomed to seeing "The Ghost of Fine Hall," as he was known, in and around the math department where he had been a fixture for years -- a department in which he no longer had any formal affiliation but where all knew of his former glory. Outside Princeton, many academics assumed he was dead.The trouble was that I saw this dead man walking everywhere on campus. He could hardly be missed. Hunch-shouldered, arms hanging, he wandered the grounds wearing a vacant expression and the same mismatched plaids in all weather, regardless of season. He muttered to himself and made no eye contact. His appearance was so unsettling that I never said hello or bothered with a half-smile. I never wondered who he really was beneath the off-putting exterior, why he was there, whether he had a family, what his background was. I simply tried to steer clear.

It took me 20 years to realize that in writing him off as almost subhuman, I'd fallen into the smug ignorance of most Americans. Sixty percent of them, according to one comprehensive national survey, want to distance themselves from people with schizophrenia.
As a grad student in the 1970s, I was, as they say, part of the problem.

Keep reading Miriam Davis’ story by clicking here.

1 The author used the term “schizophrenic” in the original publication but the ADS Center advocates for use of the phrase “person with schizophrenia.” Person-first language helps us to look at an individual, not his illness.

Subscribe to receive this update by visiting the ADS Center Web Site or by calling an ADS Center representative at 800-540-0320.

NAMI New Mexico has free video for veterans mental health issues

Posted on Friday, Jun. 27, 2008
National Alliance on Mental Illness New Mexico Offers Free Video to Help Veterans Identify and Manage Mental Health Issues

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New Mexico announced today that it is offering a free educational video to help returning soldiers in New Mexico identify and manage mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. With the support of a grant from OptumHealth, NAMI New Mexico will make the video available to returning soldiers, family members and others in the community who work with veterans from current and past conflicts.

"Many soldiers coming home may be facing mental health issues that can be treated.

Unfortunately, we know that some soldiers and family members do not seek help because they may not understand a soldier's condition, are not aware of the resources available, or might be afraid to seek help," says Becky Beckett, president of NAMI New Mexico. "With New Mexico's strong ties to the military, this national problem is also a local one. The 'Coming Home: Supporting Your Soldier' video will help our local soldiers understand that they are not alone and that help is available."

The Veteran's Health Administration projects that by September of this year, New Mexico will be home to more than 175,000 veterans, 45,000 of them from the Gulf War and other recent conflicts(1).
Read More...

As soon as I have a chance to watch it, I'll have more to post on this.

Orlando's Pathways mental-health center is crumbling, needs a hand

Orlando's Pathways mental-health center is crumbling, needs a hand
Kate Santich Sentinel Staff Writer
June 29, 2008
Edwin Hernandez spent a year and a half living in a tent in the woods, battling clinical depression.Then he found a place where he could eat, wash his clothes, take a shower and connect with people who became like family.It also helped him get on medication, move into an apartment and earn his GED. Hernandez, 24, recently started taking interior-design courses.Pathways, an Orlando drop-in center for the mentally ill, has helped hundreds of people like Hernandez get their lives turned around.
click above for more

NAMI provides support to those facing PTSD

Group aids troops with combat stress
NAMI provides support to those facing PTSD
BY LILY GORDON - lgordon@ledger-enquirer.com --

Kenneth McDonald was 17 when he joined the Army in 1968. After completing basic training at Fort Benning, he was deployed to the jungles of Thailand where his duties included loading the bodies of dead American soldiers onto airplanes to be transported home.

It was there in the hot, isolated jungle that McDonald says his troubles began.

After two years of active duty service, McDonald was stressed, depressed and worn. In 1971, he left the Army and enrolled in trade school. He was having a hard time adjusting to civilian life, however, and six months later McDonald dropped out of school and went to work at Fort Benning as a mechanic. When he was laid off from that job, he launched a landscaping business, then a catering and florist company, then a small antiques business. Nothing seemed to hold his attention and he spiralled deeper into depression.

It wasn't until 1990, more than two decades later, that a doctor told McDonald he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, schizo-affective disorder and bipolar disorder.

Help available

Some 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since 2003, according to Pentagon statistics released in May. It's a growing problem among veterans returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and one that is just beginning to get the attention it deserves, said Sue Marlowe, director of the Columbus chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Combatting the stigma surrounding the disease is ostensibly more challenging than treating it, especially when soldiers are the ones effected.
go here for more
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/357312.html

NAMI shines light on Orlando's efforts in mental health

SAM COCHRAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AWARD was awarded to Lt. Deanne Adams (CIT Orlando, FL)at the convention. She is an amazing woman and there are great things being done here in Florida too many people don't know about. This is a little bit about Lt. Adams.

Pathways Drop-In Center for the Mentally Ill
posted by Bruce Larson on May 28, 2008 6:49:29 PM
Jeff is homeless and stays at a makeshift "home" in an empty field under a Verizon Wireless billboard. His mother and brother also are temporary residents in this same field. She sleeps in a small pup tent and Jeff and his brother either sleep on a large piece of cardboard or under tarps spread across the limbs of two trees when it rains. This family also shares something else in common, they are all suffering from mental illness.

"Without the Pathways Drop-In Center, I don't know where I would be or what I would be doing right now, "Jeff said. "It gets me off the streets and keeps me focused on what I need to do," he continued.

Pathways Drop-In Center is a safe place where Jeff, his family, and others with mental illness can receive help. Located at 30th St. and S. Orange Blossom Trail, the center has helped these members of our community for over fifteen years.

The rules are strict and there are seven pages of them. But they are designed to make everything easier for everyone who comes to the center. Alcohol and non-prescribed drugs are forbidden and anyone breaking this rule faces a mandatory thirty day suspension from the center. Not everyone has access to the services. Each one applying must show documentation of a mental illness or undergo a psychiatric evaluation, usually performed by Lakeside Alternatives Behavioral Health Care.

The center is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Complete, hot meals are served at any time during these hours and the center typically sees about sixty qualifying people every day.

Pathways also provides showers, laundry facilities, internet access, a pool table, telephone access, a television room, a room to rest or nap, and group games and activities. The center also encourages prescribed treatment compliance.

The President and CEO of the Pathways Drop-In Center, Nelson Kull, was diagnosed with schizophrenia while in his early teens. Kull is responsible for all facets of the center's design and financial administration. He presently serves on the consumer panel of the Florida National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the board of the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Central Florida. Kull has also served on the board of the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities in Florida (2001), the Human Rights Advocacy Committee (1997-2000) and the Florida Council on Community Mental Health (1998-2000). Kull receives disability income and does not accept any salary from Pathways.
go here for more of this
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/community_altamonte_blog/religion/index.html

We also heard from Judge Mark Speiser on treatment instead of jail.

This is a bit about him.
JUDGE RULES FOR THE MENTALLY ILL
by Howard Finkelstein


Over the last few years Broward County has taken many remarkable steps to more humanely handle the unique needs of mentally ill and mentally retarded persons who find themselves in the criminal justice system. Although the Mental Health Court has received most of the attention, notoriety and praise it is only one of the many new and progressive developments that have been or will be implemented.

All of these developments, however, have one thing in common. They are the direct result of the work, efforts and vision of one person.
That person is the Honorable Circuit Court Judge Mark Speiser.

Judge Speiser, without precedent and only his vision to guide him, created the Mental Health Task Force. This Task Force brought to the table all of the parties that impact the treatment of the mentally ill in the criminal justice system. They include prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, those in the mental health system, private providers and relevant political players. Judge Speiser began a meaningful dialogue that still continues to this day. The purpose of this dialogue is to gain control of what a past Grand Jury called a "leaderless and rudderless ship" that was, and to a great extent, still is our mental health system.

Some, but certainly not all, of the accomplishments to come out of this dialogue as a result of Judge Speiser's firm but gentle guidance:

1). A more user friendly crisis stabilization facility for the benefit of law enforcement as well as the person in crisis. This allows for a greater possibility that law enforcement will divert the person in crisis to the mental health system rather than jail.

2). Altering the probable cause affidavit forms that are used by all police agencies to allow for a designation of a possible mental disability. This would increase the ability to identify and divert appropriate mental health cases to the mental health system and out of the jail system.

3). Sensitivity training for police officers so that they can more effectively and humanely interact with persons who are mentally ill or mentally retarded.

4). Getting the Department of Children and Families to fund a position that will place a psychiatric nurse in the Mental Health Court.

5). Accessing available grant money so that additional and better services and treatment can be provided to those suffering from mental illness and drug addiction. In addition Judge Speiser was and still is one of the guiding forces of Broward County's Drug Court.

In this writer's opinion, the most important change that Judge Speiser has brought to Broward County is a new attitude and a new way that the criminal justice system views, interacts with and dispenses justice and /or treatment to those suffering from mental illness, retardation and addiction. Judge Speiser has introduced a new dawn. One that is more understanding , compassionate and humane. His efforts, vision and heart have been a grand gift. He has most definitely helped those afflicted with mental illness and drug addiction. But he has also helped us, for he has led the way so that we can begin to leave behind our collective shame and start treating our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and husbands and wives as family rather than animals. For this we should all be grateful.
go here for more
http://www.browarddefender.org/mhealth/volume_i2_mental_health.htm

Then there is Michelle Saunders.

Mental health advocates meet in Tampa listen 01/10/08 Seán Kinane WMNF Evening News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
There is such widespread incarceration of people with mental illness that jails have become the largest mental health care providers in many communities, according to a report released in November by the Florida Supreme Court.
The report on how the state’s courts and social support systems manage citizens with mental illness recommends that mentally ill patients be moved out of jails and into treatment facilities that are almost always less expensive. An advocacy group for people with mental illness or substance abuse, Florida Partners in Crisis, held a board meeting today in Tampa.
John Petrila is a professor with the Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) at the University of South Florida. He co-chaired the Policy, Legislative, and Finance Workgroup for the Supreme Court’s report.
Michele Saunders is the executive director of Florida Partners in Crisis, which she called a diverse coalition coming together with one purpose, to better fund the mental health and substance abuse system. One way to do that, according to Saunders, is to focus on legislation in Tallahassee, including a renewal of the Criminal Justice Mental Health Substance Abuse Reinvestment Act.
Saunders said increasing reinvestment funding is one of the recommendations in the Florida Supreme Court report and Florida Partners in Crisis will seek funding from the Legislature for others.
John Petrila said the Legislature has to follow up on the Supreme Court’s recommendations.
Saunders agrees that investing in up-front services will save the state money in the long run.
Mark Speiser is a circuit court judge in Broward County and is chair of the Florida Partners in Crisis Board. He said it was important for people with mental illnesses to have access to appropriate treatment.
One way to keep people with mental health issues out of the criminal justice system and get them needed care is through mental health courts. The country’s first mental health court was established in Broward County in 1997.
Within the next few months, Hillsborough County will begin a felony mental health court to reduce the criminalization of mental illness, headed by Hillsborough Circuit Court Judge Debra Benhke.
Benhke said there are advantages to having a mental health court as opposed to keeping everyone in the criminal court system.
Judge Speiser said the Mental Health Court in Broward County serves as a successful model for the one in Hillsborough.
The group Mental Health America of Greater Tampa Bay will host a Mental Health Brainstorming Council on Saturday, Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. until noon at St. Lawrence Catholic Church on Himes Avenue in Tampa.
Learn more:
Florida Partners in Crisis
Supreme Court Mental Health report
FMHI
Previous WMNF report on Broward County’s Mental Health Court
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
For information on the Tampa Bay Region Mental Health Brainstorming Council II meeting Feb. 2, contact Scott F. Barnett at (813) 972-2618.
http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/5094

For all the complaining I do about what is not being done with mental health, it feels good to know some things are being done right. I love to post them whenever I find them but this convention gave me a lot of hope as well as a lot of headaches. More on this later.

Cop-shock and awful

We all know about the National Guards and Reservists being deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan, over and over again, while we expect them to just go back to work in between deployments. We know of the strain it puts on them and their families, their financial problems caused because they have to give up their incomes on their regular jobs and businesses, but what we don't talk about is when they are also cops.

From every state, the member of the National Guard and Reservists are coming in with PTSD rates hovering about 50%. A lot of them are cops, which in itself can cause PTSD depending on where they are from, the level of violence and other demographics. While some department heads are also veterans of combat, fully aware of the wounds caused by trauma, there are too many who are not aware at all. This is changing.

At the NAMI convention, while I found things to complain about, I also found much to be hopeful for. Since this was a mental health convention, privacy has to be protected. The person I spoke to regarding the cop/combat forces, shall be called "Spartan" until I have permission to tell his story fully. He's traveling back home today so hopefully, I can get his permission sometime this week. He's a fascinating man.

"Spartan" is head of a police department. He's fully invested in taking care of his men and very aware of the PTSD issue they are coming back with. He's making sure the rest of his department is trained to understand them as well as the people in their community they serve. Keep in mind, that when they become a cop, they do so with the same ideals of protecting and serving the same way the members of the regular military members do only they are going to war against criminals, placing their lives on the line on a daily basis. When they also happen to be members of the National Guard or Reserves, deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan, cycled back to their police uniform then cycled back into their combat gear, this adds to the stress they are under.

"Spartan" is fully aware of the sexual trauma in the military and he's doing what he can to learn more about it as well as what he can do for them. We spoke several times during the convention simply because the first time he saw me, he saw the IFOC badge from a distance and thought I was a cop as well. He wanted to learn as much as possible about teaching the people in his command as well as how to raise awareness in his community. "Spartan" has only been involved with this for less than a year and in that time he has learned a great deal. This was one of the most hopeful moments of the convention for me. He's so involved in this, I was surprised he has not been doing this work for years.

There are wonderful things being done in communities across the nation. Police commanders are opening their minds and their hearts to get not only their own into treatment for PTSD but are training their departments to respond with wisdom, being able to look at a "suspect" as a person in need of help or a person in need of jail.

Judges are now developing treatment programs instead of sending the wounded and mentally ill to jail where they are only cycled back to society and then back to jail with no one addressing their illness sending them into contact with the police in the first place. These judges are not just sending them into treatment, they are requiring the "defendant" to show they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, preparing probation officers to address these individuals differently when they do not report with the full knowledge of the mental health issues instead of criminal inclinations.

Taking an active, fully invested attitude is moving mountains within the police force itself and in these communities.

What is found is that the jails are no longer used to house the mentally ill. It is not only morally right, it is financially right as well. It is good use of tax payer funds to treat these people instead of locking them up.

As the awareness became an issue to address the needs of the cop/combat forces, it also raised awareness of the needs of the community. Judges and police officers are joining NAMI, not just to learn but to become advocates. Changes are happening and these are truly wonderful times we are entering.

I keep saying that I search daily for some positive news coming out. I get tired of posting problem after problem, heartache after heartache. It feels good to be able to post on something that is being done right. "Spartan" is a hero to me with what he's doing for his department and the community he lives in.

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Reducing Stigma for American Soldiers

Registration Now Open for Training Teleconference:Reducing Stigma for American Soldiers
Register to Participate
The SAMHSA Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma Associated With Mental Illness invites you to participate in a free teleconference training titled, “Reducing Stigma for American Soldiers.”
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2007Time: 2:00PM – 3:30PM (Eastern)
To register for this training teleconference, please click here for our registration page. Please pass this invitation along to interested friends and colleagues. Please note: Registration for this teleconference will close at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday, December 18, 2007.
We will email the telephone number for the training teleconference to all registered participants on Wednesday, December 19, 2007.
Training Summary
Nearly 1.4 million men and women make up the existing ranks of active duty military personnel, serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, but research shows that America’s soldiers may not seek help when they are experiencing a mental health problem.
A 2004 study of 6,000 military personnel involved in ground combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan found that of those whose responses indicated a mental health problem, only 23 to 40 percent sought psychiatric help.1 Many who did not cited fear of being stigmatized as a reason.2 In June of this year, the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health acknowledged that “Stigma in the military remains pervasive and often prevents service members from seeking needed care” and made dispelling stigma one of their goals.3
This training will:
Explore research on soldiers, including veterans, and mental health stigma.
Offer first-hand accounts from people who have experienced mental health stigma in the military.
Provide an overview of strategies that may help to promote mental health recovery and reduce stigma among members of the military.
1-2 S.G. Boodman. (November 6, 2007.) The other wounded. The Washington Post, last accessed 11/16/07.
3 Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health. (2007). An achievable vision: Report of the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health. Falls Church, VA: Defense Health Board, last referenced 11/29/07.
Send in Your Questions
We invite you to send in your questions related to mental health stigma in the military in advance of the teleconference. Speakers will answer as many questions as possible during the teleconference. Please send your questions by e-mail to stopstigma@samhsa.hhs.gov.
Please note that sending a question does not guarantee its inclusion in the teleconference. We will provide the speakers' contact information so that you may pursue your answer after the call. If you provide your name and organization at the time you ask your question, we may use it during the call. Anonymous questions also can be submitted.
Presentations
Presentation materials for this event will be available in two file formats: PPT (MS PowerPoint) and PDF (Portable Document Format). Please check back on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 and download one of the files.
Event Speakers
We are in the process of confirming presenters for this event. Check back to see who will be speaking!
Steve Robinson, ONE Freedom, Inc.Steve is a retired non-commissioned officer who served twenty years in the Army. He has held every job from Private to Platoon Sergeant and has also been rated in an Officer slot during his career. Since retiring in October 2001, Steve has become an advocate for veterans. He has been called to testify numerous times before the House and Senate on matters pertaining to Force Health Protection and emerging mental health issues related to this generation of returning war veterans. In his work at ONE Freedom, Steve helps veterans and their families recognize and deal with the complex issues that arise from prolonged, multiple deployments. He helps to break down the stigma of seeking help and teaches individuals and families skills to mitigate the effects of wartime trauma.
Abel Moreno, Vets4VetsAbel Moreno is the Media Outreach and Marketing Coordinator for Vets4Vets, a veterans' peer support organization dedicated to helping Iraq and Afghanistan veterans feel good about themselves and heal from any negative aspects of service and war. Abel served 7 years in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division 307th Engineer Battalion as an L.E engineer. He served one deployment in Afghanistan and one deployment in Iraq. He supported the 3rd Brigade Combat team along with L.E support with Charlie Company 307th Engineer Battalion. Duties performed were fortification, engineer recon, convoy security and demolitions. Abel received the Combat Action Badge, three Army Commendation medals, and two Army Achievement medals.
Rob Timmins, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Rob Timmins is the Field and Outreach Director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), America’s first and largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans group. He was an Infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division for the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served in Najaf, and then Mosul. Rob escorted fuel convoys, went on patrol, and raided buildings for weapons caches, and also provided security for UN officials and helped Civil Affairs with reconstruction projects. He is an authority on the war in Iraq and issues affecting troops, military families and veterans. Rob holds a B.A. in Sociology from the College of Staten Island and continues to serve his country as a legal specialist with the Army Reserves.
Training Sponsors
This teleconference is sponsored by the SAMHSA Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma (ADS Center), a project of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The session is free to all participants.