2014 Mental Health Advocacy Day Information

Transcription

1 2014 Mental Health Advocacy Day Information ü Advocacy Day Information, Directions, Parking, and Lunch ü Suggested Schedule of Activities ü Making the Most Out of your Day in Richmond ü Telling Your Story Effectively ü NAMI Virginia 2014 Legislative Priorities ü Facts and Statistics ü Talking Points NAMI Virginia PO Box 8260 Richmond, Virginia

2 Information, Directions, Parking, and Lunch What? Mental Health Advocacy Day is an opportunity to Hear inspirational speakers meet other advocates from around the Commonwealth And share your story with your legislators! When & Where? NAMI Virginia, Voices for Virginia s Children and the Campaign for Children s Mental Health will hold a legislative breakfast from 9:30-11:30am in the 5 th Floor West Conference Room. Directions FROM NORTH OR SOUTH: Take I-95 to Broad Street West exit. Continue west on Broad Street until 9th. FROM EAST OR WEST: Take I-64 to I-95 South. Take Broad Street West exit. Continue west on Broad Street until 9th. Parking Parking in Richmond on streets is difficult at any time, especially when the General Assembly is in session. There are plenty of parking lots and garages nearby. They charge a small fee for parking; it is cheaper than parking tickets. Here is a map of parking locations. You will want to add on extra time to locate parking, get your ticket, and make your way to the Rally site. Thirty minutes to one hour should be sufficient. Places to Eat Near the General Assembly Building & Capitol This is not a complete list there are other places nearby. Meriweathers State Capitol Building Gibson s Grill Corner of 7 th and Broad Street Padow s Hams & Deli: E. Main St. Capital Ale House (804) E Main St Commonwealth Park Suites Hotel Deli 901 Bank St. Coppola s Deli: East Main St. Wall St. Deli: N. 8 th St. A La Cart (Virginia State Library) 9 th and Broad Great Garden Company: E Main St 9 th St. Office Building Cafeteria 9 th and Broad Penny Lane Pub 5 th Street & Franklin Subway Sandwiches: th and Franklin Suntrust Cafeteria 10 th and Main, 3 rd Floor Wendy s: E. Cary St Café Ole 2 N. Sixth St. General Assembly Building Cafeteria: 6 th Floor of GA building

3 Suggested Schedule of Activities You are welcome to vary this according to your needs, availability, and commitments! 8:00-9:00am Arrive in Richmond, find parking and head over to the General Assembly Building to the 5 th Floor West Conference Room. 9:30 11:30am Legislative Breakfast! Enjoy light refreshments and a brief advocacy training. Legislators will have the opportunity to speak at the breakfast, so activities will be paused as they enter and leave the room. **If you have meetings scheduled during this time, you are welcome to leave and come back. 9:30 2:30 Visit legislators/aides in their offices. 12:30 Lunch break! 1:30 3:00 Continue visits with legislators Attend committee meetings at the General Assembly Building (schedule posted in lobby of GAB) 3:00 Head home, knowing that you have raised your voice and made a difference! Congratulations! Tip: Dress comfortably for the day. You will do a lot of standing and walking. There are elevators for those with mobilityimpairments. Tip: The General Assembly website is mbly.gov/ Tip: All visitors to the General Assembly must pass through metal detectors once entering the building. This is standard protocol

4 Making the Most Out Of Your Day in Richmond Before you go: 1. Find out who your Senator and Delegate are by visiting 2. Write down your legislators address, and the Richmond office phone number. 3. Review our legislative priorities, as they focus on the needs of individuals with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use disorder. 4. If you can, contact your legislator by phone or to notify him or her that you will be in Richmond on January 20th and would appreciate the opportunity to meet with either them or their legislative aide. Let them know that you are especially interested in funding for services to individuals with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders. Be sure to include a few words about why this is of interest to you. Also, invite your legislator to join you at the Legislative Breakfast on the 5 th Floor West Conference Room between 9:30-11:30am. 5. Plan and rehearse what you will say to your legislators or to their aides when you visit them. Be sure to connect what you say with key points on the legislative agenda. Please put your remarks and/or personal story in writing to leave with them. Telling Your Story Effectively After the Breakfast. Locate your Senator s and Delegate s offices. Try to look them up beforehand. If needed helpers will be on hand to help you identify your legislator s office. If possible, make a stop to both your Senator s and Delegate s offices. Meeting with your Senator/Delegate Introduce yourself and in 1-2 minutes explain who you are: i.e. "I am a person who has experienced mental illness" or "I am a family member/loved one of someone with mental illness" or "I am affiliated with xyz organization that does xyz", etc. If you are a constituent say so! Explain your interest in mental health services. If possible tie it to the legislative agenda. Explain what you are there for that day. Be specific. Use a fact sheet if you have one. How have services helped you? What has worked? Try to tell a success story AND/OR talk about why treating mental illness is important. Briefly explain what your experience has been with trying to access needed services in the community. What challenges and difficulties have you faced? What would have made it better?

5 What are your hopes for a future with a world-class mental health system in Virginia? What would the system look like? Have a clear and pointed "take-away" message. What is it you want your elected officials to remember from your visit? Say thank you! Thank the legislator for his/her time. Express your hope for a continued relationship. Indicate that you are available if he/she has questions in the future. Provide a card if you have one. Tip: Remember, if the legislator is not available, these same guidelines apply to the Legislative Aide (LA). The Legislative Aide is the eyes and ears for the legislator and should be treated with respect! Tip: Bring a camera! Ask to take a picture with the Senator/Delegate for your website, newsletter, Facebook page, etc. Additional Pointers: Telling Your Story For persons receiving services or who have experienced serious mental illness ü Do you receive services now, or have you in the past? What has been the most helpful? ü What did you need that you were unable to get? Why? ü Have you needed certain services (from a CSB, for example) that you weren t able to get? What were those services? ü What are the services/supports that have been the most helpful to you? In what ways have they been helpful? ü What gaps in services/supports do you believe are missing? What impact do you think that has on your life/the lives of your fellow peers/the community? ü What does recovery mean to you? Are you experiencing recovery? Do you hope to? How? ü Did you ever have to go to the hospital for a psychiatric crisis? If there is something that could have been available to you to help a crisis situation, what would that have been? For family members/loved ones ü Is your family member/loved on receiving services now, or has he/she in the past? If so, what are those services? Were they helpful? Why or why not? ü What mental health services do you believe have been lacking in your community? ü What has been the impact of unavailable/inaccessible services? ü What services/programs have been the most helpful to your family member/loved one? ü Did your family member/loved one ever have to go to the hospital for a psychiatric crisis? Was there some service/support that could have helped prevent a hospitalization? If so, what?

6 General Do s and Don ts of Effective Advocacy DON T Be confrontational, berate, or yell Threaten Get off the subject or ramble on and on and on Guess or make up data Say. This was a waste of my time! Blow off a Legislative Aide or other staffer because you didn t get to see the actual Senator/Delegate Talk about how bad they are while at the capitol Write a letter to the editor saying how awful the legislator is DO Be positive and friendly Be BRIEF and concise; limit the number of issues Use fact sheets (and leave it behind) Give reliable information Say I don t know. If you don t know then offer to find out! And follow back up. Be clear about your position (I support because/i oppose because.) Thank him/her for their time Wait until you re in the car to complain Write a thank you letter when you get home

7 NAMI Virginia s 2014 Legislative Priorities Enable portability/flexibility of auxiliary grants Virginia s current auxiliary grant program requires recipients to use auxiliary grants in assisted living facilities or adult care homes only. Portable and flexible auxiliary grants would enable adults with serious mental illness who receive SSI to use auxiliary grants in settings other than assisted living facilities and adult care homes. A complaint was filed to the federal Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights. Virginia s auxiliary grant program is now being investigated for violations to the ADA. Virginia should act proactively to avoid a Department of Justice lawsuit. Prevent rate cuts and eligibility changes to community mental health rehab services Adequate reimbursement rates are critical for attracting and maintaining providers participation in Medicaid, and ensuring the quality of care for adults with SMI and children with SED. Rate cuts and eligibility changes could have serious adverse consequences on the availability of mental health services. Support Medicaid reform and expansion Continue supporting expansion of Medicaid up to 138% of the federal poverty level. It is estimated that an additional 40,000-80,000 adults with mental health disorders will be able to receive mental health and other medical services if Medicaid is expanded in Virginia to this population. Increase the availability of crisis response/crisis stabilization services for adults and children Crisis response services provide non- hospital based crisis intervention and stabilization services which can reduce admissions to hospitals and minimize trauma that an individual and family experiences when a mental health problem becomes a full scale crisis. Amazingly, many population centers in Virginia still do not have access to these critical services for adults and children. In FY13, three pilot programs funded by the General Assembly reduced admissions to the state children's psychiatric hospital by 10% and reduced bed day utilization by 21% as a result of the new services being available in their communities. Having proven successful, these and other crisis response programs need to be expanded. Increase the availability of PACT programs PACT is a nationally recognized evidence- based practice that results in fewer hospitalizations, fewer incarcerations, and increased housing stability for adults with SMI. In FY 2012 in Virginia, 76% of individuals served by PACT in the previous 12 months experienced the combined outcome living in stable housing (no more than one move and no homelessness or jail as a residence: 88%), and no more than one psychiatric hospital admission (86%) and no arrests (93%), which are all strong indicators of recovery. Increasing the availability of PACT programs in Virginia is a recommendation from the Governor s School and Campus Safety Task Force. Implement transition- age services (18-25)

8 Services to bridge the gap between children s services and adult services must be established To prevent the most vulnerable youth, especially those at risk for potentially becoming dangerous, from falling through the cracks in the existing system with its separate adult and child services structures (Excerpted from the Governor s School and Campus Safety Task Force). Implementing transition- age services is a recommendation from the Governor s School and Campus Safety Task Force. Expand criminal justice and jail diversion services (Sequential Intercept Model) A reduction in state and private hospital beds and inadequate network of community- based has increasingly caused people with mental illness to enter Virginia s jails. In fact the 2012 Virginia Compensation Board Report found that 24% of Virginia s jail inmates have a mental illness (roughly 6,300 people). Of those 6,300 people 48% have a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Virginia should expand its jail diversion programs such as crisis intervention teams, 24- hour drop off assessment centers, and other strategies that make up the Sequential Intercept Model. Expanding jail diversion services is a recommendation from the Governor s School and Campus Safety Task Force. For more talking points, tips and information about speaking to your legislators check out the following links! Getting involved to create change- Advocacy Tools Fact sheets