NAMI News

In observance of Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 3-9), the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) will forcefully urge national, state, and local policy makers to take the steps necessary to end the unemployment, homelessness, poverty, criminalization, social isolation, and premature death that mark the lives of people with severe mental illnesses.

We are heartened by the announcement of Senator William Roth (R-DE), chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance-with jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid and much of the nation's health industry-that he will hold a hearing later this fall on the abuse of seclusion and restraints in psychiatric hospitals.

Concern and speculation have circulated throughout the nation's mental health community about the new NBC television show, Stark Raving Mad, scheduled to premiere Thursday, September 23rd. But Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer, has promised the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) there is no cause for alarm.

 The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is calling on Federal, state and local authorities to seek out and protect homeless persons with severe mental illnesses in those areas located in the path of Hurricane Floyd.

The nation's largest grassroots organization for persons suffering from severe mental illnesses today advised Governor Gray Davis that California's mental health parity bill, AB 88, represents a "critical opportunity to redeem California as a leader" in setting public policy within the United States.

Dateline NBC will air an episode Friday night devoted entirely to the trials and eventual success of a man struggling with the severe brain disorder schizophrenia. 

Nestle USA believes the names of three of its Tangy Taffy flavors are "rooted in a silly, playful humor" that "amuses children and gives personality to our cartoon characters." NAMI, on other hand, considers the names to have "long-standing stereotypical associations with person suffering from mental illnesses" 

The Texas Criminal Court of Appeals decision provides a breath of hope into a process that should never have come as far as it already has.

Between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. (PDT) today, on a beach along the Oregon Coast, Brian Kaplan will finish an odyssey that began in June and has promoted a cause dear to his heart: support for families who cope with the challenges of severe mental illnesses.

The nation's largest advocacy organization for persons with mental illness today criticized Arkansas state government for inadequate consumer education and input in proposing significant changes to the state's adult mental health service system, following a hearing Tuesday in Little Rock on a Medicaid managed care plan.