Darrell Steinberg and the Campaign for Mental Health

President Bush's New Freedom Commission On Mental Health Recognizes Stigma as a Problem

In a speech on April 29, 2002, President Bush announced his establishment of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, stating:

"Our country must make a commitment: Americans with mental illness deserve our understanding, and they deserve excellent care. They deserve a health system that treats their illness with the same urgency as a physical illness."

According to the report later published by the President's Commisson, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified mental illnesses as the leading causes of disability worldwide. But "[s]adly, only 1 out of 2 people with a serious form of mental illness seeks treatment... ."

The President's Commission report attributes this unwillingness to seek treatment to the stigma associated with mental illness: "[S]tigma frequently surrounds mental illnesses, prompting many people to hide their symptoms and avoid treatment."

The stigma against people with mental disabilities is a bipartisan issue that affects us all. Mental disabilities cut across all segments of our society. The stigma against people with mental disabilities will lessen over time and will, I hope, disappear -- just as it has for other types of disabilities. It will take time and work, though. Fortunately, so many people have been working for decades on reducing the stigma. In the Prop. 63 campaign, we're building on that work.

The flow of poignant personal stories continues on YESon63.org. I wanted to thank Eric, who posted recently, for sharing his story. Congratulations, Eric, on your engagement and on your success. You have every right to be very proud of your accomplishments and of your happiness.

Personal Stories of Prop 63

The Legislature finally adjourned for the year at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning after a long week of late nights. I'm terming out this year, so it was my last session in the Assembly. A couple days of recovery, and now I'm ready to work on Prop. 63.

First thing this morning, I read two personal stories that were recently posted, and I'm reminded that recovery isn't so easy for some of the people who suffer from mental illness, which is why I'm dedicating myself to this cause. These stories make me want to reach out and help in any way that I can. Different people are able to help in different ways, and my way of helping is to establish a dedicated funding source to fund integrated mental health services for people who want them.

Candace mentions the shortage of group homes, and the possible closure of group homes, as a result of lack of funding. This is a very real problem in California, and one that I haven't yet written about here. Amanda and Candace, your stories will help many families have a better understanding of biologically based mental illness.

Thank you very much, Candace and Amanda, for your stories. Sharing stories is one of the most important things anyone can do to help others and to help our cause.

Event at Former State Hospital in Stockton

On October 4, I will be in Stockton, on the grounds of the former state hospital, to honor and remember the people with mental disabilities who were confined at that hospital, to raise public awareness about mental disabilities, and to talk about Prop. 63. I'll be joined by people who resided at the hospital before it was closed in the 70s. Please join us if you can. It's an important part of the history and evolution of mental health treatment in California, and I'm looking forward to hearing the stories of the people who will speak at the event. Details to follow.

Raising Public Awareness and Reducing the Stigma

I happened to see a magazine article about Jane Pauley's book, Skywriting, in which she reveals her bipolar disorder. Telling personal stories is essential to our goal of raising public awareness and reducing the stigma. These stories serve the important function of helping people who have mental disabilities, or who have friends or family members who do, understand that they are not alone. Thanks to all of you who have added your personal stories to our "Share Your Story" area of the website.

How will the funds from Proposition 63 be distributed?

This is another question I'm often asked.

Counties will receive funds to deliver services under Proposition 63 to the extent that they demonstrate that they have significant unmet needs and establish that they have the resources and capability to deliver services that meet the standards under the nationally recognized integrated services model for adults and seniors and the children's system of care. Similar requirements will be established by the Oversight and Accountability Commission which must approve expenditures for prevention and early intervention programs and/or for innovative programs.

Under the law, many counties contract with private, mostly nonprofit mental health agencies to deliver services. Counties and these agencies will be required to establish positive outcomes to clients as a result of the services delivered as a condition of receiving funds in future years.

Are the Services to Be Provided by Prop 63 Well Thought Out?

I'm sometimes asked if the services to be funded by Prop 63 are well thought out.

The adults' system of care and the children's system of care, which will be funded by Prop 63, are programs under which services are provided under detailed annual contracts and performance review that require that services be coordinated and integrated, which services meet high standards for outcomes and cost effectiveness. These are established programs that have become nationally recognized models because they work in treating people with severe mental illness. These programs keep people off the streets and out of jail, and they keep children in their homes. The single biggest problem, however, is lack of funding available to serve all of those in need. Proposition 63 will provide that funding.

August 18 Movie Night

This past Wednesday, August 18, Prop 63 supporters participated in a statewide Movie Night House Party effort around the Cinemax screening of People Say I'm Crazy, the acclaimed documentary by John Cadigan. It's a truly powerful film, and reports from around the state affirmed its important connection to Prop 63.

Wrote one party host:

"(John's) willingness to share his life story the challenges of living with mental illness is absolutely inspiring. John’s film showed everyone at my party how important it is to work for the passage of Prop 63. I think the film inspired a whole new group of activists!"

John and Katie Cadigan, his sister, joined Prop 63 supporters at a Movie Night event in Reseda. At the conclusion of the film, they graciously took questions from an inspired group of mental health consumers and providers. I was able to call in to one San Francisco gathering, where I was greeted by an enthusiastic group who gave the movie a rousing endorsement.

Click here for some great photos and testimonials from events all over the state.

The program has gone so well, we've made arrangements with the filmmakers to extend Movie Night for the remainder of the campaign - so if you missed the August 18 broadcast you can still arrange a party on your own time. Click here for more information. I urge you to find time to see this film.

NAMI Conference

On Friday evening of last week, I spoke at the statewide NAMI statewide conference in Burlingame. Among NAMI's pressing issues for this year is ending the inappropriate incarceration of people with mental disabilities. NAMI California has also made the support of Prop. 63 its priority for this year. It was an honor to be invited to speak to at the conference and to see and talk to the supporters we have for Prop. 63.

Less than two weeks until "gavel down," as we call the last day of the legislative session, and then it's the countdown to the election in November. We need to continue to build our grassroots support for Prop. 63. Every vote counts, and we need 5,000,000 of them. Please help today by emailing a friend or two and telling them about Prop. 63.

Saving the Children's System of Care

I've written recently about the children's system of care, the funding for which was recently blue-penciled from the state budget by the Governor. The Governor has the authority to do "line-item vetoes" in the budget, and funding for the children's system of care was vetoed under this authority. It can't be "unvetoed," so we're working on other ways to get funding back into the children's system of care so this program can continue to serve children with severe mental illness who do not qualify for Medi-Cal and who do not have adequate insurance or other funding to pay for their mental health services.

These children deserve to have access to services and to be able to reach their full potential in life. These are the children who, without services, are at high risk of defaulting into the mental health facility that's open 24/7--juvenile hall.

Please see the Children's System of Care Fact Sheet, which was prepared by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, with particular assistance from John Hatakeyama, Olivia Celis, and Parent Advocates in the department.

The organizations that are working to save this program are the Women's Legislative Caucus, the California Mental Health Directors Association, the California State Association of Counties, County Welfare Directors Association, and Urban Counties Caucus.

Please read the fact sheet about this critically important program. This is one of the programs that will be funded with money from Prop. 63 if and when it is adopted by voters in November. But, as I've said before, we've got to work to save the children's system of care, and we've also got to work to get the votes we need to adopt Prop. 63 in November.

Juvenile Mental Health and AB 2019

Stefany, thanks for your post about the new juvenile mental health court in San Diego County. I wasn't aware of that one. Now we have three statewide--Santa Clara County, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County.

AB 2019, which is a bill I am authoring relating to juvenile mental health, just cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. This is a bill that would establish a separate disposition track for minors with mental and developmental disabilities who land in the juvenile delinquency system. The bill applies to minors who do not present dangers to public safety.

It's been a difficult process because counties just don't have the funds to serve more minors in the juvenile delinquency system, and there's no money in the General Fund for the Legislature to appropriate for this purpose. However, I think we've come up with a solution.