Tell Governor Corbett Words Have Power
Did you know that Pennsylvania is the only state that still refers to its human services department as the Department of Public Welfare (DPW)? Representative Thomas Murt and Senators Jay Costa and Bob Mensch think Pennsylvania can do better. They’ve introduced legislation (HB 993) that proposes renaming the department to the Department of Human Services in order to better reflect its mission and to alleviate the stigma associated with the word welfare.
Why the name change and why now? Six former DPW Secretaries say it best in their recent letter supporting the legislation: “With 95% of the Department’s budget being spent on health and human services, the Department needs a name that aligns with its mission to ‘promote, improve and sustain the quality of family life, break the cycle of dependency, and protect and serve Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens.’ It’s time for Pennsylvania to get in sync with the rest of the country and change the name.”
Also supporting the legislation are five former PA governors, more than 100 legislators, who have signed on as cosponsors of name-change legislation, and thousands of members of organizations and associations providing human services across the state. Now we need Governor Corbett to support the efforts of Representative Murt and Senators Costa and Mensch.
Call or email Governor Corbett today and ask him to help move this name change through. Tell him words have power.
Email: Governor@pa.gov
Call: 717-787-2500
You can explain to Governor Corbett that DPW’s estimated $8 million cost of changing the name doesn’t add up. Click here to see a list of the Campaign for What Works’ top ten reasons cost isn’t a factor in this rename. And remind the Governor that the list of people supporting this change is bipartisan and widespread.
Act Now!
Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act
MHAPA applauds Congressman Matthew Cartwright (PA-17) for introducing the Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act today.
On average, 22 veterans commit suicide each day. Men aged 50-59 were the most likely to commit suicide—well after they’d likely been discharged. The high prevalence of mental health disorders that contribute to these deaths demonstrate the urgency of providing mental health treatment to veterans at no matter when combat related mental health disorders first appear.
Currently, veterans face a five-year window in which they must seek treatment for mental illnesses before losing their higher priority status. This legislation would eliminate this time-limit and allow veterans to seek treatment for service-connected mental illnesses, regardless of when their conditions manifest themselves.
Learn More
Click here to learn more about the mental health crisis facing today’s veterans and about the Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act.
Take Action
The bi-partisan bill has 48 co-sponsors to date. See a list here. If your Congress person is not on the list, contact them and encourage them to sign-on as a co-sponsor. Let them know it’s literally a matter of life or death for the men and women who fight to protect our freedoms.
Oppose Human Services Block Grant Expansion
On Monday, the House Health Committee will consider House Bill 461, which proposes increasing the number of counties piloting the Human Services Block Grant from 20 to 30. We also expect the proposal of an amendment to expand the Block Grant to any willing county.
This is not okay, and we need to let legislators on the Health Committee know it. Contact your legislators today and urge them not to consider any expansion of the Human Services Block Grant program. (Click here to see a list of the Health Committee members. Contact the member of the committee who represents your district. If you are unsure of who your legislator is, find them here.)
When communicating with legislators:
- Remind them that the Block Grant is a major shift in public policy that was designed and implemented with no stakeholder participation—and no consideration of the consequences.
- Explain that a true pilot program would have been implemented in a small number of counties, with a well-designed plan for evaluating its success. The initial pilot started in July 2012 and has not yet been evaluated. Greater expansion doesn’t make sense when the program has not been in place long enough to know the results. It is critical that the initial 20-county Block Grant implementation be rigorously evaluated to determine whether its goals of flexibility and integrated services have been met. As a matter of sound public policy, only when success has been demonstrated should expansion be considered.
- Let them know that the Block Grant breaks promises the Commonwealth made to its citizens to provide and maintain community mental health services after the closure of state institutions. Approximately 73 percent of the Block Grant is comprised of funds previously dedicated to community-based behavioral health services. Moving these funds into a Block Grant, where they can be used for other programs, breaks these promises and puts the behavioral health system infrastructure in jeopardy. It also puts individuals without access to community-based supports at risk of homelessness, incarceration, and being “dumped” into emergency rooms.
Speak out today! It is critical that legislators hear from you no later than Monday morning. Let them know that you oppose the Block Grant expansion.
Recovery Sharing Workshops
Are you or is someone you know living the Mental Health Recovery journey? Do you walk the path with others who are? Would you like to help spread awareness that people do recover from mental illness—and that recovery is a transformational process, unique to each individual?
This spring, the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania (MHAPA) and the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association (PMHCA) are sponsoring three Recovery Sharing Workshops for consumers, families, mental health professionals, and community members.
Join us for one of the following workshops and learn how you can help promote awareness of mental health recovery and support others on their recovery journeys. You will have the opportunity to participate in two of three breakout sessions about the I’m the Evidence/Mental Health Campaign, Mental Health Advance Directives, and building leadership skills in Recovery.
- Wednesday, April 17 in Wyomissing at the Inn at Reading
- Monday, May 20 in Mars at the Four Points Sheraton (Please note the change in date from Tuesday, May 7 to Monday, May 20.)
- Tuesday, June 4 in State College at the Days Inn
Each workshop runs from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per participant.
Learn More & Register
Click here to learn more and download a registration form. Or contact Lynn Keltz (lynn@pmhca.org, 1-717-564-5930) or Samantha Harkins (samantha@pmhca.org, 1-800-887-6422) at PMHCA with questions.
Resources for Military Service Members
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released a comprehensive report on Veterans suicides, including data for both Veterans who had received health care services from VA, as well as those who had not. This information will help the VA strengthen its aggressive suicide prevention activities. Additionally, the VA has announced that it has made significant progress in providing increased access to mental health care services for our Nation’s Veterans by hiring new mental health Professionals. This is definitely a step in the right direction, but Veteran suicides will remain a national tragedy until they are stopped. If you are depressed or having thoughts of suicide, be courageous and ask for help! If you suspect a friend or loved one needs help, offer them a lifeline.
Below are resources for receiving and volunteering support:
Give An Hour provides services to anyone who is or has been affected directly or indirectly by the current conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The Soldiers Project is a group of licensed mental health professionals who offer free psychological treatment to military service members (active duty, National Guard, Reserves and veterans) and their loved ones who have served or who expect to serve in the conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The VA Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text.
Recovery Sharing Workshops
Are you or is someone you know living the Mental Health Recovery journey? Do you walk the path with others who are? Would you like to help spread awareness that people do recover from mental illness—and that recovery is a transformational process, unique to each individual?
This spring, the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania (MHAPA) and the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association (PMHCA) are sponsoring three Recovery Sharing Workshops for consumers, families, mental health professionals, and community members.
Join us for one of the following workshops and learn how you can help promote awareness of mental health recovery and support others on their recovery journeys. You will have the opportunity to participate in two of three breakout sessions about the I’m the Evidence/Mental Health Campaign, Mental Health Advance Directives, and building leadership skills in Recovery.
- Wednesday, April 17 in Wyomissing at the Inn at Reading
- Monday, May 20 in Mars at the Four Points Sheraton (Please note the change in date from Tuesday, May 7 to Monday, May 20.)
- Tuesday, June 4 in State College at the Days Inn
Each workshop runs from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per participant.
Learn More & Register
Click here to learn more and download a registration form. Or contact Lynn Keltz (lynn@pmhca.org, 1-717-564-5930) or Samantha Harkins (samantha@pmhca.org, 1-800-887-6422) at PMHCA with questions.
Act Now to Restore Cuts Made to the Human Services Budget
Help bring the lost funding back THIS YEAR!
Representative Gene DiGirolamo, (R) Bucks County, chair of the House Human Services Committee has introduced HB 315, a supplemental appropriation bill which restores $84 million in Human Services funding that was cut as part of the fiscal year 2012-2013 state budget. If it passes, the cuts would be restored now!
Take Action Today!
Contact your representative. Rep. DiGirolamo currently seeks co-sponsors of the bill and has asked his House colleagues for support. We need you to ask them as well. Click here to see if your representative has signed on yet to co-sponsor the bill. If not, please urge your legislator to sign on to HB 315. If your representative is a co-sponsor, say thank you. Not sure who your representative is? Click here to find out.
Read Rep. DiGirolamo’s co-sponsor solicitation letter here, which contains an outline of the increases he proposes.
Share your story. In his letter, DiGirolamo says, “The 10% cut that was part of the budget is severely impacting services for people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and addictions.” If you or someone you love is one of those people, tell your legislator how the cuts have hurt you. And share your story with other organizations who are fighting to restore cuts this year—and to and prevent more next year. Click here to learn how to share your story.
Act today! This is an opportunity to restore Human Services funding, which would make a critical difference to many individuals and behavioral health organizations across the state.
Online Weight Loss Intervention Needs Assessment
The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion invites you to participate in a new survey that seeks to gather input from individuals with psychiatric disabilities about the resources and services that would help them to achieve their weight loss goals. The information gathered will help to develop a weight loss program for mental health consumers interested in losing weight, providing the services and resources needed to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Who is eligible: Participants need to be over the age of 18 and have a psychiatric disability.
What the survey covers: This survey will help us identify what mental health consumers would like to see in a weight loss intervention. The survey will ask questions about personal health, nutrition, physical activity, goal setting, and preferences in technology and weight loss programs. Responses to the survey are completely anonymous and participants may choose to skip any question they do not wish to answer or stop the survey at any time. There is no penalty for not completing the survey.
How can I participate: The survey, which will take about 10 minutes, can be completed on a computer or iPad. To get started, click here.
Help spread the word! Please help us reach interested participants by disseminating this study announcement and sharing the text below via your listserv or in your next newsletter. Also please let us know if you have additional suggestions that will help us reach participants who may be interested in participating. If you have any questions or would like more information about this survey, please contact Dr. Gretchen Snethen at (215)707-3390 or gsnethen@temple.edu
