Office for Victims of Crime Organizational Scholarships for Victim/Survivor Professional Development Now Available!

Survivors Helping Survivors
The Institute on Violence, Abuse & Trauma (IVAT) has been awarded organizational scholarships from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).  These scholarships will support professional development opportunities for crime victims/survivors at the 20th International Summit & Training on Violence, Abuse & Trauma. If you have been the victim of a crime and use your experience of survival to assist others, you may qualify for a scholarship to attend the 20th International Summit & Training.  Funds are available to support registration and lodging in San Diego from August 23-26, 2015.

Application Deadline: Friday, August 14, 2015

For more information and to request an application please contact
Teresa Lass tlass@alliant.edu (858)527-1860 x4550

http://www.ivatcenters.org/Documents/2015/International/IVAT%2020th%20Registration%20Booklet-FINAL.pdf 

92% of Eligible Covered California Enrollees Have Renewed Plans

On Wednesday, Covered California officials announced that most residents who purchased a health plan through the exchange last year have renewed their coverage for 2015, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports.

Details of Renewals

About one million Californians who bought private coverage during the Affordable Care Act's first open enrollment period were eligible for renewal (Florido, "KPCC News," KPCC, 1/28).

About 944,000 of those who were eligible to renew have done so -- representing a renewal rate of 92% (Covered California release, 1/28).

Officials announced that about 576,000 consumers allowed their coverage to automatically renew, while about 368,000 decided to shop for a new plan. As of December 2014, about 54,000 enrollees had switched plans, according to "KPCC News" ("KPCC News," KPCC, 1/28).

State data on the renewals show customer retention rates of:

• 99% for Kaiser Permanente;
• 94% for Anthem Blue Cross;
• 94% for Blue Shield of California; and
• 90% for Health Net.

Implications

Charles Bacchi, CEO of the California Association of Health Plans, said, "[W]ith 90% of enrollees sticking with their existing health plan, it is clear that there is stability in the market and people are pleased with their coverage" (Terhune, Los Angeles Times, 1/28).

Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee added, "Consumers liked the plan they were in, liked the providers they have access to and did not see the need [to change coverage] -- even though one-third actively logged onto the system and looked around" at other plans ("KPCC News," KPCC, 1/28).

http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2015/1/29/92-of-eligible-covered-california--enrollees-have-renewed-plans

Yet again, mental health funding act gets slammed

California voters don’t readily raise taxes. But because the cause was just, they made an exception in 2004 by authorizing a $1 billion-plus a year tax to help poor souls who struggle with mental illness.
“Our prisons and jails are full of thousands of people with mental illnesses who would not be there if they had been offered treatment,” Proposition 63’s backers said in the official ballot argument. “We should provide care before people end up on the streets, or behind bars.”
So the Little Hoover Commission report this week was beyond disheartening. The report said there is no proof that the $13.2 billion generated by the Proposition 63-imposed income tax on wealthy Californians during the past decade has done what it set out to do.
“After 10 years, the state cannot provide basic answers to basic questions: Has homelessness declined? Are programs helping Californians stay at work or in school? Who is being served and who is falling through the cracks?” the state government-run oversight commission said.
The report does not break much new ground. The California State Auditor reported in 2013 that the state provided little assurance of the Mental Health Services Act’s effectiveness. The latest report does, however, serve a function by making clear that not much has changed.
Former Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, the initiative’s leading proponent, said in an interview on Wednesday that data proving the act has worked would be delivered within six weeks. We look forward to it.
In 2004, Proposition 63 backers told voters that by approving the Mental Health Services Act, they would greatly reduce costs for incarceration, medical care, homeless shelters and social service programs.
However, the latest report states the obvious: “Californians still see the mentally ill on their streets and see too often the impacts of mental illness in senseless crimes, suicides and inability to stay in school or on the job.
“Without conclusive data, no one knows how far the state has come in addressing mental illness through the act and how far it still has to go.”
Not far enough, evidently. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates that 28.4 percent of the inmates in state prison have some sort of mental illness diagnosis.
The commission points out that the Department of Health Care Services and the Mental Health Oversight and Accountability Commission are supposed to monitor how the money is spent. Additionally, the state allocates $86.9 million from Proposition 63 funds to 12 state agencies – count them, 12 – to administer aspects of the program.
Clearly, many departments claim to oversee parts of the $1 billion-plus, but no single agency is in charge.
The Little Hoover Commission refers to press reports that money has helped fund acupuncture, art and drama classes, sweat lodges, parenting classes, massage chairs, horseback riding therapy, yoga and anti-bullying programs. The commission does not, however, attempt to determine whether such programs make sense, a disappointment.
Thanks to voters’ compassion, California has spent a huge sum to care for severely mentally ill people in the past decade, more than any other state. Voters deserve a proper accounting of how that $13.2 billion has been spent. More to the point, the state and counties need to use that money for people who, through no fault of their own, cannot care for themselves

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article8539355.html#storylink=cpy

Mental Health Hook Up Corporate Consultation Services: Video

ACA Helps Mend Differences Between Obama Admin., Insurers - California Healthline

ACA Helps Mend Differences Between Obama Admin., Insurers - California Healthline

The Obama administration and health insurers have formed a "mutually beneficial partnership" since the Affordable Care Act's passage in 2012. Although insurers initially distrusted the federal government, they now help insulate the Obama administration against challenges to the law, which presents opportunities for insurer growth. New York Times et al.

Mental Health Hookup Book Recommendation: Maya Schenwar's "Locked Down, Locked Out" - Get It Now

Prisons affect people with mental illness as well.   Might we be going backward?

Barbara Wilson

Maya Schenwar's "Locked Down, Locked Out":
For years, in addition to her tireless work running Truthout, Maya Schenwar has written on the impact of prisons in the United States - the devastating effects this system of incarceration has on individuals, families, communities and the country as a whole.

As more and more people recognize the US prison system as a pressing issue, her work has appeared not just at Truthout but also The Guardian and The New York Times. Now we are very proud to announce the release of Maya Schenwar’s debut book, Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better.

Locked Down, Locked Out is a deeply personal and unflinchingly honest book, drawing directly on the experience of Schenwar’s own family, as well as extensive research and interviews with those who are incarcerated and those who are working to find better alternatives to incarceration. Through the stories of prisoners and their loved ones, Truthout’s editor-in-chief looks at how prison breaks apart families and communities, creating a rippling effect that touches every corner of our society. With an eye always on the practical, she explores how we can provide healing and resolution to victims while building public safety in communities - and ultimately, how we can create a safer, more just world.

Locked Down, Locked Out has already been acclaimed by everyone from Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, to former Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and from Bill Ayers to Angela Davis, who says it contains “brilliant juxtaposition of abolitionist imaginaries and radical political practices.”

Published by Berrett-Koehler, Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better will be in stores on November 10. But you can get Maya Schenwar’s book ahead of time, shipped directly from Truthout, by making a minimum donation of $25 today!

NAMI: Mental Illness and the Right to Vote

Many people with mental illness mistakenly think that they have lost their right to vote.  Unless they have had their rights revoked due to criminal convictions or through conservatorship, they have a right to vote.   Voting can now be done on-line and there are free computers in most public libraries.

If the right to vote has been lost there are procedures to reclaim the right to vote. 

http://www.nami.org/election

Live from NAMI Walks Los Angeles: Barbara B. Wilson

Mental Health Hookup is at the 11th annual NAMI walk in Los Angeles county today. Lots of excitement, NAMI groups from all over L A County from Antelope valley to Long Beach east to inland empire. 

In the photos:

Dist Attny Jackie Lacey ; dr Marvin southard, director of Los Angeles county dept of mental health

October 5th through the 11th is Mental Health Awareness Week

Upcoming NAMI Walks in California

Learn more about the NAMI walks at http://www.namiwalks.org/

Robin Williams dead at 63: Actor’s battle with severe depression spotlights celebrities’ mental illnesses

Hopefully his passing will provide a spotlight on treatment and resources for those suffering from mental illness. It is such a huge issue that is not publicized enough in my opinion.


From the NYDAILY NEWS:
Robin Williams talked about his battle with depression, as well as years of drug and alcohol addiction, in interviews years before his death. The actor was found dead in his California home Monday.

The actor’s battle with depression puts a spotlight on his famous friends, including Christopher Reeve and Jonathan Winters, and other celebrities who had experiences with extreme depression.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/robin-williams-battle-depression-spotlights-celebrities-mental-illnesses-article-1.1900493