Advocacy is Needed for those Suffering from Mental Illness

On July 5th, Human Rights Watch released a letter written to New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer. The letter calls on Governor Spitzer to sign state legislation that would prohibit the solitary confinement of mentally ill inmates in New York State. The text can be found at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/07/05/usdom16358.htm. The legislation that HRW supports criticizes the New York State prison system's treatment of those with mental illness in the New York State prison system.

This letter highlights a continuing and basically unaddressed issue in the United States- the treatment of those suffering from mental illness. Along with unjust treatment in the prison system, those with mental illness don't receive adequate health care, funding for housing frequently gets challenged, and sufferers are more often than not excluded from society on the whole. The case of those with mental illness must be taken up- sufferers deserve more support than they receive.

Current legislation exists dealing with issues that affect those with mental illness. The New York State bill is one, and constituents of New York should advocate for Spitzer to support the bill. Legislation also exists at the federal level. Senate Bill 558 would provide health care benefits for mental illness that are equivalent to those provided for medical and surgical services; Congress should support this bill. On June 13th, the House passed a bill that helps to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. However, the bill contains language that stigmatizes mental illness, and that language must be corrected. Click here for more information on the bill: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=June7&Template=Content Management ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=473 88. In addition, Congress will consider proposals related to fiscal year 2008 funding for Housing and Urban Development. The first proposal is to cut a program that develops community based housing for those with mental illness and other disabilities. This program has been critical to providing mental illness sufferers with access to housing, and Congress should not support the proposal to cut it.

These four pieces of legislation, one at the New York state level, and three at the Federal level, affect those with mental illness in a very real way. Mental illness sufferers deserve a real voice. Passing the New York bill and Senate Bill 558, correcting stigmatizing language in the House bill dealing with gun control, and not supporting the proposal to cut funding for HUD section 811 dealing with housing, is a step in the right direction, but more advocacy is necessary. To learn more about the discussed bills or about issues facing those with mental illness in general, click here.

Cat Zweig
ADA Legislative Intern