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Mental Health America Blog
Mental Health America Blog - Chiming In
By Paul Gionfriddo, MHA President and CEO
The Mental Health America community lost a friend, a mentor, a fierce advocate, and a family member when we lost Rusty Selix to ALS this week.
The accolades have poured in from many individuals and organizations who he touched during his productive life. They’ve cited his contributions to MHA in its California affiliates, to NCBH and its California association, to the Steinberg Center in Sacramento...
By Paul Gionfriddo, MHA President and CEO
The mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton are yet another chilling reminder of the changed nation in which we all live.
When the Columbine shootings occurred twenty years ago, we understood it to be an uncommon tragedy. We sought information about the shooters, and naively believed that we might not live through more of these, and that we could move beyond them quickly.
We now know that this is not the case. As these shootings have multiplied, tragedy and trauma have spread throughout all parts of the country, and...
By Caren Howard, MHA Advocacy Manager
Medicaid Anniversary
Fifty-four years ago, on July 30, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Social Security Amendments Act of 1965 establishing the Medicare and Medicaid public health insurance programs. The bill was the start of a commitment federal government made to its citizens to provide a safety net to the uninsured who did not have a way to pay for...
By Ruben Cantu and Dana Fields-Johnson, Prevention Institute
The International District of Albuquerque, New Mexico is a majority Latino neighborhood that vibrates with life. It’s a hub of family-owned bakeries, restaurants, and shops that showcase the distinct origin stories of its inhabitants. But the community also faces challenges that have created high levels of economic and other kinds of stress for residents, which...
By Kelly Davis, DIrector of Peer Advocacy, Supports, and Services at Mental Health America
By bringing together college students from across the country,...
By Paul Gionfriddo, MHA President and CEO
As more stories of the horrors of child detention camps emerge, compassion, concern, and respect for human life should compel leaders across the nation to speak out. Adults and children are being harmed at our border, many in ways we can’t easily see. This is in part because we haven’t been allowed to see. But from what people have seen and we all know, it is the children who may be harmed the most.
What is...
By Laura Susanne Yochelson, volunteer for MHA’s 2019 Annual Conference
Mental Health America (MHA) gave me an incredible gift!
My invitation to support MHA’s eye-opening annual conference came as I was getting my life on track after a year of mental health treatment in south Florida. A few months ago, I sent a message to introduce myself to Paul Gionfriddo, the CEO, after an online search of organizations in the mental health field. I took a...
Mental Health America (MHA) knows people are busy so we created the Back Home Campaign Advocacy Update to summarize federal and state mental health news and activities. If you’d like to learn about happenings in particular that are not addressed, please let us know by emailing MHA’s Caren Howard at choward@mentalhealthamerica.net.
Advocacy Programming
Thank...
By Non Wels, feely human and creator of You, Me, Empathy
(Trigger warning: Disordered eating, weight, and suicidal ideation are mentioned in this blog post.)
I’m a man in recovery from Anorexia Nervosa.
As a man, I’m not here to show you how strong I am, how impervious to crying I am, how in the face of an emotional peculiarity—or emotion, period—I find the willpower to stuff it down then proceed to crush a beer can...
By Taylor Adams, Manager, Workplace Mental Health
Think back to the last time you were struggling at work because of stress or a personal issue. Did you talk to your supervisor about it? When was the last time you took a day off for your mental health? Work-related stress is common in the workplace, but your company’s culture and your relationship with your supervisor play a major role in how you perform your job and manage your stress.
Mental Health...
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