Unmasking Mental Illness and Promoting Mental Health Care Equality

NAMI's partnership with political leaders has continued to grow over the last 27 years. "Unmasking Mental Illness" was co-chaired by two current policy makers: Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), nationally known health care advocate supporting, sponsoring and co-sponsoring healthcare related legislation (before and after her six years serving on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions); and, Representative Pete Stark (D-CA, 13th), Senior Member of the Ways and Means Committee, and the current Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee (Stark was the Subcommittee's Chairman from 1984-1994 and the Ranking Minority Member from 1994-2006).

Both Collins and Stark support the passage of The Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 and they are not alone on the Hill. Numerous other Senators and House Representatives are listed under the Benefit Committee for the celebration gala as well, denoting their support of NAMI's work and their dedication to mental health care issues.

NAMI's website (http://www.nami.org/) has terrific information on this parity bill, and I encourage each of us to send a letter to our respective representatives for the passing of this bill.

All proceeds from the "Unmasking Mental Illness" celebration gala will go to NAMI programs, and this includes NAMI's National Veterans Council whose advocacy and volunteer numbers continue to swell due to the influx of care necessary for mental health concerns for returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq as well as previous wars. The suicide rates continue to climb for veterans from the Vietnam War, and NAMI is working with the Veterans Administration to fill the need for quality mental health care and treatment for all veterans.