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National
Institute for Mental Health (NIMH)
Defining mental illness is part of what the National Institute
for Mental Health does. The NIMH, an arm of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, describes symptoms, diagnoses and
treatments of mental illnesses. It also provides statistics and
research papers on mental health issues.
Center
for Mental Health Services' Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN)
The Center offers a variety of information about mental health
in English and in Spanish. Order free publications, search KEN's
referral database, read mental health news and explore links on
a variety of mental health-related topics.
Surgeon
General's Office
Read the Surgeon General's extensive report summarizing the nation's
mental health problem.
World
Health Organization
For a global perspective, read the World Health Organization's
2001 annual report, which is devoted to mental health and the
widening "treatment gap" around the world. The report cites that
more than 40 percent of countries have no mental health policy
and 90 percent have no policy that includes children and adolescents.
National
Public Radio: Simulations of Mental Illness
This feature story (August 29, 2002) looks at a virtual reality
program that allows participants to see and hear the world through
the eyes and ears of a person with schizophrenic illness. You
can download a multimedia slide show of highlights of a schizophrenic
episode.
National
Public Radio: The Infinite Mind
This weekly show focuses on the art and science of the human mind,
spirit, behavior and mental health. You can access an archive
of past episodes that cover themes including mental illness in
the family, men and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder
and memories of war, teen suicide, and schizophrenia. The program
is hosted by former NIMH Director Dr. Fred Goodwin.
PBS:
A Brilliant Madness
PBS's American Experience features John Nash, a Nobel Prize-winning
mathematician who struggled with mental illness, and the Web site
provides a forum for questions and answers on illness and recovery
with mental health experts, as well as a history of mental health
treatment dating back to 400 b.c.
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More than half of homeless adults have a mental illness, and it's
estimated that in California alone there are 50,000 mentally ill
people sleeping on the street each night. Many regard homelessness
as a consequence of the de-institutionalization of psychiatric
hospitals and of a shortage of community-based care.
National
Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness
The Center provides fact sheets and publications on homelessness
and mental illness.
National
Health Care for the Homeless Council: Healing Hands
Download a report published by the Council subtitled "Mental Illness,
Chronic Homelessness: An American Disgrace," on the causes and
consequences of homelessness and the mentally ill.
Los
Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness
The coalition's Mental Health Policy Project is working to replicate
a Safe Haven facility that provides housing and services to homeless
mentally ill people in west Los Angeles and is developing a how-to
manual and Web site for other communities to follow.
Coalition
on Homelessness in San Francisco
You can find information on San Francisco's mental health system,
as well as facts on homeless deaths and substance abuse on the
city's streets. Read about the coalition's substance abuse and
mental health work and about the group's lobbying efforts for
mental health reform.
PATH
The national grant program, Projects Assistance in Transition
From Homelessness, funds community-based outreach, mental
health, substance abuse, case management and other support services,
as well as some housing services. Search the online database for
state by state contact information and a list of PATH providers
in your county.
PACT
This is an overview of the Program for Assertive Community Treatment,
a service-delivery model that many mental health and homeless
outreach programs are based on.
Corporation
for Supportive Housing (CSH)
This national, non-profit organization assists communities to
create and operate quality permanent supportive housing for people
who are homeless and also face the challenges of conditions such
as mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and chemical dependency. CSH provides
technical and financial assistance through their offices and national
resource center.
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There
are hundreds of grassroots mental health consumer organizations
across the country, and no single organization speaks for all
consumers. The term "mental health consumer" isn't even uniformly
accepted. Some identify themselves as survivors, others as ex-patients.
In the 1970s, a movement of consumers, survivors and ex-patients
was born, as they organized early groups, such as the Alliance
for the Liberation of Mental Patients, the Insane Liberation Front,
and Project Release, meeting in homes and churches to gain better
access to services. Many stayed connected nationally through a
newsletter called Madness Network News. Soon consumers began running
their own support groups and services, and they created co-op
housing and drop-in centers. In the mid-1980s, differences in
consumer views resulted in the creation of two leading national
organizations, the National Mental Health Consumers Association,
and the National Association of Mental Patients, the latter of
which mostly differentiated itself in by its members' opposition
to all forms of involuntary treatment.
National
Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse
This consumer-run national technical assistance center helps connect
individuals to self-help and advocacy resources.
California
Network of Mental Health Clients
This is the country's first mental health consumer-run state organization
in the country. Search its statewide directory of client-run groups,
and read legislative action alerts, policy papers, and a calendar
of upcoming events.
California
Association of Mental Health Patients' Rights Advocates
Access general legal resources and a patient advocacy manual.
California
Office of Patients' Rights
Part of Protection and Advocacy Inc. (PAI), the office contracts
with the California Department of Mental Health to ensure adherence
to mental health laws and the rights of patients. The office has
direct advocacy services on-site at four state hospitals, and
responds to patients' complaints.
National
Empowerment Center: Leaders in Recovery
Laurie Ahern and Daniel Fisher, M.D., Ph.D., co-directors of the
National Empowerment Center, share stories of recovery and of
their work as advocates.
 Judi
Chamberlin: On Our Own
Read an excerpt from former mental health patient Judi Chamberlin's
1978 book, a benchmark in the history of the consumer movement.
National
Empowerment Center: Consumer/Survivor History Project
To address the lack of survivor voices in the histories already
written about mental health history, the National Empowerment
Center is collecting former patients' firsthand accounts, as well
as artifacts such as graffiti on seclusion room walls, patient
art, patient diaries, and correspondence.
California
Memorial Project
Consumer groups are working to restore cemeteries at state institutions
to honor people with mental illness who lived and died in state
hospitals.
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Family
members of consumers are often affected too, as they work to understand
mental illness and help their loved ones through treatment and
recovery. A "family movement" also dates back to the 1970s. It
sprang out of a lack of available services and the past tendency
of the mental health establishment to blame parents for the mental
illness of their children. Family advocates today are a powerful
lobby for mental health legislation and funding, as well as a
strong voice for the expansion of community-based services.
National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
What started out as a small cadre of families in Wisconsin in
1979 has grown into a more than 200,000-member-strong organization
today advocating for persons with severe and persistent mental
illness. NAMI heads up its own policy institute and also operates
family groups for self-help and education through its network
of state and local affiliates, organized in an online database.
Its Web site also includes facts and figures on mental illness
and treatment. You can subscribe to NAMI's electronic Stigma Alerts
and its E-News.
National
Mental Health Association (NMHA)
The NMHA is the country's oldest mental health awareness and advocacy
organization.
Federation
of Families for Children's Mental Health
This national parent-run organization focuses on the needs of
children and youth with emotional, behavioral or mental disorders
and their families. Its Web site features a directory of local
chapters and tip sheets on how parents can get involved in policy
work.
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Use
these resources to stay informed on federal and state level policy
issues.
President's
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
This new commission was created to formulate an action plan for
the president to improve the mental health service system in the
United States. Influence the reform recommendations -- watch the
commission's Web site for callouts for public comment.
California
Department of Mental Health
Access information on state health laws and regulations, community
mental health services, and state hospitals.
The
Carter Center Mental Health Proram
This advocacy program focuses on mental health policy issues relating
to reducing stigma and discrimination, achieving equity for mental
health care comparable to other health care and increasing awareness
about mental health and illness.
Lantermin-Petris-Short
Act
Read the section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code
-- which led to the deinstitutionalization of people who have
a mental illness -- that outlines patients' rights and the conditions
under which people can be treated involuntarily in the state of
California.
The
Little Hoover Commission
California's independent oversight agency that investigates state
government operations reported on the state of the mental health
system in "Being There: Making a Commitment to Mental Health."
Download the 2000 report and watch for the commission's biennial
statement, which will include updates of mental health reform
efforts, to be released in January 2003.
The
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Check out federal legislative updates and alerts by the national
legal advocacy group's site.
Mental
Health Association of California
The association tracks breaking news on state legislation related
to mental health and provides online reports.
Donaldson
v. O'Connor
The 1975 U.S. Supreme Court case, involving a Florida state hospital
patient who complained he had been kept in custody against his
will for nearly 15 years, was a landmark case establishing the
civil rights of the mentally ill.
Reise
v. St. Mary's Hospital and Medical Center
The 1987 California State Court Appeals case, involving schizophrenic
patient Eleanor Riese, who refused medication after voluntarily
seeking hospitalization, was a benchmark ruling establishing the
right to refuse treatment.
Other
Court Rulings
Review other historic U.S. Supreme Court decisions related to
mental health. volved in policy work.
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The media is the public's primary source of information about
mental illness, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
survey, and yet movies, television and newspapers too often reinforce
stereotypes of people with mental illness, rather than dispel
them.
National
Stigma Clearinghouse: Anti-Stigma Homepage
The National Stigma Clearinghouse tracks negative stereotypes
of mental illnesses in news, advertising and entertainment and
provides information, including a sample letter to the editor,
to fight discrimination and stigma. The clearinghouse also posts
examples of "positive visibility."
Fairness
and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)
Published online by FAIR, the article "Mindless and Deadly" looks
at media hype of mental illness and violence.
MadNation
This is a webzine on social justice and human rights in mental
health.
Pennsylvania
State University Public Broadcasting: Erase the Stigma
This project of WPSU was designed to raise awareness of and encourage
dialogue about mental illnesses and its impact on Central Pennsylvania.
Read or listen to a series of commentaries produced and delivered
by consumers, family members, and mental health professionals.
Columbia
Journalism Review: Covering Mental Health
This resource guide for reporters and editors produced by the
Columbia Journalism Review includes a list of leading experts
in mental health.
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Mental
Health Education and Workforce Development Initiative, College
of Extended Learning, San Francisco State University
This program provides mental health education in four key
areas: teacher education (preschool - postgraduate), public education
to raise awareness and reduce stigma, supported education for
college students with mental disabilities, and workforce development
for mental health/human services careers.
Center for Mental
Health in Schools at UCLA
The Center approaches mental health and psychosocial concerns
from the broad perspective of addressing barriers to learning
and promoting healthy development. Specific attention is given
policies and strategies that can counter fragmentation and enhance
collaboration between school and community programs.
The
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
CABF is a parent-led, not-for-profit, web-based membership organization
of families raising children diagnosed with, or at risk for, early-onset
bipolar disorder.
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The
Hope and the Street Web site and discussion forums are provided
solely for educational and informational purposes. As such, they
are not meant to provide professional medical advice, counseling
or services. Only a qualified medical professional who is familiar
with your particular circumstances can provide specific guidance
regarding your health questions and we encourage you to ask your
doctor or health care provider any questions you may have relating
to the information contained on this Web site. KQED does not preview,
endorse, review, censor or control the content of pages linked
to this site and therefore cannot be held responsible for errors
or consequences arising from use of this information.
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