 About the Campaign
Staff
Member Organizations
News
Roadmap
Press Room
Contact the Campaign
Report of the Presidents New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
Support the Campaign |
Fact Sheet: The Campaign
Real Crisis
President’s Commission Finds a Mental Health System in Trouble
In July 2003, President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental
Health released a groundbreaking report entitled “Achieving the
Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America.” The Commission
found the U.S. mental health system “fragmented and in disarray,
lead[ing] to unnecessary and costly disability, homelessness, school failure
and incarceration.” The Commission called for a “fundamental
transformation.”
Yet, since the release of the Commission’s report, 63,000 Americans
have been victims of suicide; more than 200,000 Americans with mental
illnesses have been incarcerated; more than 25,000 families have given
up custody of their children in order to get mental health services; juvenile
detention centers have spent $200 million “warehousing” children;
and the American economy has lost $150 billion in productivity due to
unaddressed mental health needs.
Real People
A Coalition Working for Millions of Americans
Responding to the crisis, mental health organizations representing millions
of Americans, their families, and service providers, have come together
in an unprecedented coalition to establish the Campaign for Mental Health
Reform. The Campaign seeks to make mental health a national priority and
to make early access, recovery and quality in mental health services the
hallmarks of our nation’s mental health system.
War veterans and 9/11 first-responders with traumatic stress; children
suffering with disorders that, untreated, can lead to school failure and
a lifetime of pain; people with severe depression; homeless adults suffering
hallucinations; people suffering in silence due to stigma or lack of accessible
treatment—all deserve the hope, dignity and promise of productive
lives.
Real Solutions
A Roadmap for Federal Action on America’s Mental Health Crisis
On July 27, 2005, the Campaign for Mental Health Reform will mark the
two-year anniversary of the New Freedom Commission’s findings by
releasing “Emergency Response: A Roadmap for Federal Action on America’s
Mental Health Crisis.”
This landmark report provides a detailed action plan for the Federal
government to more effectively coordinate and align Federal, state, and
local resources to get the right services to the right people at the right
time. The report sets forth specific proposals to:
- better utilize Medicaid dollars
- end the “warehousing” of
youth
- provide cost-effective home- and community-based care
- end discrimination
by public and private health insurance programs
- establish comprehensive plans of care
- promote successful community re-entry
- provide access to early intervention services
- provide
effective assistance for people who are homeless
The Campaign—as the unified voice on mental health
policy—will work with federal policymakers to make these and other
reforms a reality.
|
One of every two Americans who need mental
health treatment do not receive it, and the rate is even lower —and
the quality of care poorer—for ethnic and racial minorities.
|
 |
