NEW YORK CITYVOICESAlbany Advocate
Columns by Joseph A. Glazer, Esq.
President/CEO, Mental Health Association in New York State
NYC Voices Home - Archives - Categories - Search NYC Voices
Leading By Example
"Recognizing that advocacy is best served when driven by the heart, a person living with mental illness who can relate their relationship to the value and shortcomings of the mental health system is clearly the best advocate."Update on Involuntary Outpatient Commitment
"a law establishing involuntary outpatient commitment is creating compulsory participation in something that does not exist ... For politicians in New York State, adopting outpatient commitment would mean great headlines and failed public policy."Deadly Restraints
"On June 28, 1999, Gregory Lee Richardson died in restraints in the Albany County Jail. Diagnosed with schizophrenia 20 years earlier, Mr. Richardson was in the jail following his arrest for a traffic-related incident ... after nearly three weeks in the Albany County jail without a full psychiatric evaluation"MHANYS' 2000 Legislative Program
"the 2000 Legislative Program is based on testimony offered by mental health advocates at the MHANYS Annual Public Hearing in October."A Mother's View
"Most of the time, talking about him brings visible pain. She still can't understand what happened to her son, and hopes that her loss is not repeated for some other parent of a person living with schizophrenia."Singing the Praises of an Unsung Hero
"Senator Duane spoke in support of his motion, saying, 'This bill does not provide greater coverage for mental illnesses, it provides for equal treatment. For too long ... people who are seeking treatment for mental illness have had to live with stigmatization.'"Into the Capitol
"following maneuvers and counter-maneuvers, the effort to get Senator Libous' parity bill past the Senate was defeated—with all 23 Republican co-sponsors voting against their own bill."When Illness Strikes a Friend
"One of the things that comes with learning that mental illness can touch anyone is also recognizing that on any given day, it might ... No matter our background or training, we are often ill-prepared for it, and feel helpless when it does occur."Musical Chairs
"MHANYS believes that the mental health advocacy community has a great friend and leader in Marty Luster"Albany Advocate: Share Your "Beautiful Mind"
"In the world of advocacy, nothing makes a better case for an issue than the stories of the people who most greatly need the change being sought."Mental Health Legislative Year in Review
Accomplishments as well as what still must be done to improve the lives of the mentally illHealth Insurers Resist Full Mental Health Coverage
"The O'Clairs had to relinquish custody of Timothy into foster care, so he could get the treatment he needed."PROS Challenges Consumers to Master New Rules
"Until now, all consumers were served for free. In the future [with PROS], clients without Medicaid may have to pay according to income."
Albany Legislative Year in Review
By MICHAEL SEEREITER, Director of Public Policy, Mental Health Association in New York State
"Just one week after saying he had 'profound concerns' with the budget passed by the Assembly and Senate, the Governor wielded his veto pen and vetoed 195 items in the budget totaling $1.8 billion."Albany Monster Seeks to Restrict Access to Medications
A COLUMN BY MICHAEL SEEREITER, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION IN NEW YORK STATE
"As the calls to reduce the cost of Medicaid have become louder and louder, the costs associated with prescription drugs, which now represent a large portion of all Medicaid costs, continue to be a prime target."The Fight for Rights in Albany
BY GUEST COLUMNIST MORRIS LEVINE, MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE
"We learned the importance of advocacy. We spoke up for ourselves and we were heard…we know that our cause is worth standing up for."