Tuesday, October 07, 2003

NAMI Participates in Congressional Symposium
NAMI press release - " From Washington D.C.’s Congressional Symposium to a silent, solitary, candle-lit moment of remembrance in Bird City, Kansas, U.S. citizens are participating in the nation’s observance of Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW), October 5-11. It is an opportunity to advocate with federal and state lawmakers, civic club members, faith-based and social groups – or educate through schools, news media, even sidewalk information tables at a Wal-Mart – for and with people living with mental illnesses. As The Nation’s Voice on Mental Illness, NAMI embraces MIAW and works with partners, professionals and fellow advocates to heighten understanding about serious mental illnesses and achieve access to treatments that work for the 18 million Americans affected by them..."  
  

Steep Rise in Abuse of Legal Drugs
ABC News story - "SAMHSA estimates 9 million people now abuse prescription drugs, meaning they use them for non-medical, and often recreational, purposes. Three million abusers are kids between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. And the abuse can be deadly: Prescription drugs now play a factor in a quarter of all overdose deaths reported in the United States. U.S. drug officials say this represents a dramatic surge — one that took them by surprise. It has presented a whole new set of challenges, such as a lack of law-enforcement resources to track down shadowy Internet sites and unethical doctors and pharmacists. Another key issue: finding a way to balance any law-enforcement measures with the needs of legitimate online pharmacies that have helped the elderly and others save money and time."  
  

HHS Announces $1.5 Million to Promote Exemplary Mental Health Practices in Communities
SAMHSA press release - "Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced 10 one-year grants totaling $1.5 million to promote the adoption of exemplary mental health practices in communities around the country. These grants are designed to help support consensus building, infrastructure development, and training activities for the delivery of services to children with serious emotional disturbance, adults with serious mental illness and those with co-occurring substance disorders."  
  

Kids' Mental Health Care Varies by State
HealthDayNews story at Yahoo - "A review of mental health care for children revealed wide disparities in 13 states that represent a cross-section of the nation. The comparison, done by researchers from RAND Health, found that mental health programs serve a far greater share of children in some states than in others, but that states with a higher use of children's mental health services don't necessarily have a higher need for them." See also the full report, Geographic Disparities in Children's Mental Health Care (Adobe Acrobat format).