New Nationwide Report Reveals that More than One in Every 10 Adults Experienced Serious Psychological Distress in the Past Year
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health – December 22, 2008
Summary: A new report has been published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). Eric Broderick, Acting SAMHSA Mental Health Administrator, was quoted, “This new report shows that serious mental health problems affect almost 10 percent of people over age 18 and less than half receive services that could help improve their situation. As we focus on advancing and protecting the nation’s health we must ensure mental health services are part of the solution.”
Staggering Costs of Mental Illness
thestar.com – Toronto, December 10, 2008
Summary: In a recent article in the Toronto Star, Jim McCarter was quoted as saying that the estimated total economic costs to Ontario attributable to mental illness was about $22 billion a year. He said, “Addressing the needs of people with mental illness is a pressing issue for Ontario’s health-care system and society as a whole.” Alcohol and drug abuse alone are estimated to cost the province $8 billion annually in health care, law enforcement, motor vehicle accidents, crime and indirect costs resulting from lost productivity.
First NJ Clubhouse for Mentally Ill Coming to Hub City
The Daily Targum – September 8, 2008
Summary: The Daily Targum reported on the opening of Laurel House in New Jersey and the fact that the Clubhouse is providing those with chronic mental illnesses a new resource to help reintegrate into the work force. “We hope to be the first of many in New Jersey,” said Annette Mayo, the president of the Laurel House Committee, “Their success rate is phenomenal [because] it doesn’t focus on the fact that these people are sick, it focuses on the fact that these people are citizens of the community who would like to have a meaningful life.”
Programs That Work
The American Prospect – June 23, 2008
Summary: According to The American Prospect, at least 200,000 Americans with mental illness are homeless, and another 200,000 are in the criminal justice system. Those who aren’t homeless or institutionalized are often confined to their homes and isolated from society. But Clubhouses, as well as other recovery-oriented, community-based options like Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) programs, offer real promise for individuals with mental illness, while at the same time saving millions of dollars for state and local governments.
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The Plight of a Forgotten Cause
Financial Times – November 9, 2007
Summary: Financial Times reported that non-profit organizations dedicated to helping people with mental illness are being neglected. Even though mental illness is more prevalent than cancer or diabetes, non-profit organizations that aim to serve people with mental illness and family members who support them remain hand-to-mouth organizations. While mental health giving grew in the 1990s, an article published in Health Affairs (September/October 2003) found the rate of growth was far below that for total foundation giving or giving for health.
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