Tuesday, October 21, 2003

The Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice
"Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers, will launch the Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice in 2004 to honor the late Senator Paul D. Wellstone from Minnesota. Elected to the United States Senate in 1990, Paul D. Wellstone became a strong and vocal proponent of high-quality, affordable health care for all. Throughout his service in the Senate, he built a reputation as an advocate for social justice and an outspoken champion for those who lacked a voice in the national arena. The Wellstone Fellowship provides a unique opportunity to honor the memory of the late Senator Wellstone by promoting equity in health care. More specifically, the fellow will work with communities of color for the advancement of social justice through participation in health care advocacy work. Each year, Families USA will select one individual to fill this 12-month fellowship." See also the pages on the fellowship's description, qualifications, and selection process, and on application procedures.  
  

Job Applicants with Disabilities to Benefit from Fact Sheet on Rights Throughout Hiring Process
October 7 press release from the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, brought to our attention by the National Mental Health Consumers Self-Help Clearinghouse - "As National Disability Employment Awareness Month begins, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released a new fact sheet designed to educate job applicants on how Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects their rights throughout the hiring process. This tool is EEOC's most recent strategy in a series of efforts, under President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, to advance the employment of individuals with disabilities." See also the fact sheet, Job Applicants and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  
  

The need for mental health parity
Editorial from the St. Louis Post Dispatch reprinted at the NAMI web site - "With little fanfare, a presidential commission on mental health told President George W. Bush this summer that the country must dramatically reform the public mental health system because it is 'fragmented and in disarray . . . lead[ing] to unnecessary and costly disability, homelessness, school failure and incarceration.' The commission is right. But such sweeping reform could take time. What about people who need mental health care now? Too often, they fall through the cracks or face closed doors. ..."