NAMI News

he National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has named one of its premiere education programs-in which consumers with mental illnesses speak directly to community audiences about their experiences with brain disorders, treatment and recovery-in honor of In Our Own Voice, a documentary produced independently by Idaho Public Television (IDPTV) with funding from the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare.

The Golden Globe awards won't be announced until Sunday, January 20, and Oscar nominations have yet to be made, but the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is already calling "A Beautiful Mind" a winner.

"A Beautiful Mind will enlighten, encourage, and destigmatize mental illness. I sincerely believe it will do more for the suffering of millions of people than any other movie. It is a staggering achievement."

Late Tuesday, December 18, a conference committee of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voted to drop the mental health parity amendment from the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill (H.R. 3061). Key House leaders remained opposed to the provision until the end.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is pleased to announce that Xavier F. Amador, Ph.D. will join its national office in January 2002 as director of NAMI's new national Center on Practice & Research.

"A Beautiful Mind is more than just a movie," said NAMI executive director Richard C. Birkel. "It may represent a breakthrough for Hollywood. As an Oscar contender, the movie has the potential to contribute significantly to broader public education about mental illness."

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is rated as one of the nation's "100 Best Charities" by Worthmagazine-in a cover story that appears on newsstands this week.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), with 220,000 members and 1200 state and local affiliates nationwide, is - proud to stand with Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Paul Wellstone (D-MN), Mrs. Rosalyn Carter, and others in support of S 543, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act.

On the eve of a news conference with former First Lady Rosalyn Carter at the U.S. Capitol (Nov. 29 at 11AM), the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)) says that the fate of legislation strengthening health insurance parity for mental illnesses lies in the hands of only a few key leaders in the House of Representatives.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has called on state legislators in Michigan to refrain from adopting a Medicaid drug formulary plan that would place strict restrictions on consumer access to certain medicines.