Pete Earley

Michael Pollack, DBSA photo

(1-17-22) In the last of this series, Michael Pollock, the CEO of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, today answers the four questions that I have been posing this month to leaders of mental health organizations – asking each about 2021 accomplishments, 2022 priorities and why each of them were drawn to mental health work. I was especially pleased to have received Mr. Pollock’s replies because my son, Kevin, attended DBSA meetings and the group was helpful to his recovery. 

What was DBSA’s biggest accomplishment during 2021?

According to data provided by the CDC Mental Health Household Pulse Survey, 42.% of Americans reported experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety in December 2020. This is a 133% increase from pre-pandemic rates. Further, non-Hispanic Blacks have reported a disproportionate increase in symptoms since the pandemic began, not unlike the disproportionate rate of COVID-19 positive tests results among the Black community. This crisis is further compounded by barriers to care often faced by people with mood disorders and other mental health conditions, particularly with individuals from traditionally marginalized communities.

The Depression and Bipolar Alliance (DBSA) has earned a favorable reputation to successfully train people with lived experience to become state-certified peer support specialists, who’s professional role is to foster hope and serve as a valuable role model for those who are walking the road to wellness. Training, however, is only the first step toward achieving certification. Depending on the state, individuals are required to earn supervised hours in a behavioral health or other employment setting to gather hands-on experience. Insurance will not reimburse for this work and health care employers are under resourced and, therefore, can’t or won’t offer this group paid employment. Most who are interested in pursuing profession are stymied by the practical realities that they must earn a living.

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                                                      President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia

(1-12-22) The National Council represents 3,500 providers of mental health and substance abuse treatment programs across the U.S. delivering services to more than 10 million men, women and children. I am grateful that its President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia agreed to answer the four questions that I have been asking leaders of major mental health organizations this month as we look at each group’s past accomplishments, future priorities and why its leaders got involved in mental health programs.

Question One: What was the National Council’s biggest accomplishment during 2021?

Ensuring access to care rests on the ability of mental health and substance use organizations to have the capacity to serve existing clients and see new ones.  There has been and continues to be a need for financial assistance in our nation’s community-based mental health and substance use treatment services. As organizations across the country struggled to keep their doors open and continue to provide needed care to their communities, our efforts focused on making sure mental health and substance use treatment organizations were included in negotiations around the American Rescue Plan Act. Our advocacy helped lead to specific block grant funding for mental health and substance use treatment organizations, as well as additional provider relief funding made available through the Department of Health and Human Services, particularly for those in rural communities and those serving vulnerable patient populations.

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(1-12-21) Long-time peer advocate Harvey Rosenthal answers the four questions that I have been posing to leaders of mental health organizations about their previous accomplishments, priorities and goals going into 2022. Thank you Mr. Rosenthal for responding on behalf of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS).

Question One: What was NYAPRS’s biggest accomplishment during 2021?

We’re most proud of our work in coalition with an extraordinary group of NYS criminal justice advocates to help win a landmark ban on horrific solitary confinement for vulnerable individuals that include people with mental health challenges, youth and seniors and new or pregnant Moms. Also, for the opportunities to be able to help fight off proposed deep funding cuts, help craft new peer crisis stabilization and psychiatric rehabilitation models, preserve self-directed care programs and gain another round of funding for a peer led outreach and support model.

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(1-10-22) Daniel H. Gillison Jr., the CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, today answers the four questions that I have asked major leaders in the mental health community to answer about what their organizations accomplished during 2021, what their priorities are during the coming year, and why they got involved in mental health work. Thank you Mr. Gillison for your response. 

Question One: What was NAMI’s biggest accomplishment during 2021?

As we know all too well, people with mental illness, especially people with serious mental illness, and their families often face unimaginable tragedy and trauma because of our inadequate response to mental health crises. 1 in 5 people experiencing homelessness have a serious mental illness. Since 2015, nearly 1 in 4 fatal police shootings have been of people with mental health conditions, with 1 in 3 of those being people of color.

According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, law enforcement agencies are continuing to spend 10 percent of their budget and one-fifth of staff time responding to people in psychiatric emergencies they are not equipped to handle. And people with mental illness are still overrepresented in our criminal justice system; Black individuals experiencing mental illness in jail are more likely to go into solitary confinement, more likely to become injured while incarcerated, and more likely to stay in jail longer, where mental health conditions are often left untreated.

This is unacceptable.

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(1-7-22) Schroeder Stribling, Mental Health America’s President and CEO was kind enough to answer the same four questions that I posed to Dr. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and several other mental health leaders at the start of the new year. I am posting all responses based on when I received them. Thank you President/CEO Stribling, especially for sharing your personal story about your father.

Question One: What was Mental Health America’s biggest accomplishment during 2021?

During 2021, Mental Health America screened 5 million people through our Online Screening Program, providing free, anonymous, clinically-validated assessments to those seeking mental health information and support. In 2021, MHA was able to double the number of people that were screened in 2020. We are proud to have helped 5 million people this year, in the midst of a pandemic, learn more about their mental health and access critical resources.

In addition to supporting each individual person who took a screen, MHA was also able to make a greater impact this year by plotting the results of these screens geographically, and in real-time. By analyzing screening results according to location, MHA was able to generate information about the current mental health needs of the nation at a pace and scale that has not been possible in the past.

Government data on mental health conditions is often delayed by one to two years, making it difficult to respond quickly to high-need areas and significantly weakening prevention efforts. By using geographic analysis to identify communities in need of greater mental health supports, MHA was able to generate findings that enabled state and local policymakers to take immediate action in their communities.

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(1-5-22) Lisa Dailey, Executive Director of The Treatment Advocacy Center, answered the same four questions that I posed to Dr. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and other mental health leaders at the start of the new year. Thank you Director Dailey for your responses.

Question One: What was Treatment Advocacy Center’s biggest accomplishment during 2021?

The second year of the pandemic presented a new and unprecedented challenge to our commitment to represent those with the most severe mental illness in every relevant conversation.

In a normal year, we know what this encompasses. In 2021, research began to demonstrate something very concerning: our specific population, and particularly those with schizophrenia, are at a much higher risk of death or severe illness due to COVID than any other population apart from the elderly. It wasn’t a modest effect. The data was absolutely clear that failure to prioritize vaccination for those with SMI in our public health response meant that many of our loved ones with SMI would literally die. We knew it wouldn’t be enough for people to simply be eligible for the vaccine; those most at risk did not know that they were at greater risk.

We were not seeing any efforts to acknowledge and address the unique hurdles to vaccination faced by those with severe mental illness.

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