Title
Declaring May 2006 as Mental Health Month in the City of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Founded in 1979, the National Alliance on Mental Illness ("NAMI") is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families and has become the nation's voice on mental illness with over 1,000 affiliate chapters across the country, which join together to meet the organization's mission through support, education, advocacy, and research; and
WHEREAS, NAMI just released Grading the States: A Report on America's Health Care System for Serious Mental Illnesses, 2006, the first state-by-state report on the nation's mental health care system in more than 15 years, which comes as President Bush releases the FY 2007 federal budget with proposed cuts for mental health; and
WHEREAS, From the NAMI report, the national average per state for mental health care was a D and Pennsylvania's grade for helping adults with serious mental illness was a D+; and
WHEREAS, To address this problem of accessible mental health care, Philadelphia's three affiliate NAMI chapters will host a three-part Open House and Membership Drive in May, as part of Mental Health Month, to bring together families and individuals, living with mental illness, and caregivers and professionals for practical support and information as well as to raise awareness, combat stigma, and coordinate outreach -- all with the goal of improving the quality of life of all people affected directly or indirectly by mental illness; and
WHEREAS, On Saturday May 6th, from 1 to 4 p.m., NAMI PA Northwest Philadelphia will host their open house and membership drive at the Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library at 68 West Chelten Avenue, on Thursday May 18th, from 6 to 8 p.m., NAMI PA North Central Philadelphia will host their open house and membership drive at the Warren E. Smith H...
Click here for full text