By XXX

One in four of us. That’s the number of Americans who will experience mental illness at some point in their lifetimes. Yet, for decades, funding for mental health treatment has steadily declined. It’s time to change that, and legislation pending in Congress woulddo so.

In my [number] years in the mental health field, I’ve witnessed devastating cuts in mental health budgets.Nationally, public mental health programs were cut by $4.35 billion from 2009-2012, and fewer than half of Americans who live with mental illness are getting any treatment at all.

Here in [state or city] the situation is [characterize budget situation]. Government funded mental health centers are the bedrock of our nation’s mental healthcare system. Repeated funding cuts undermine our ability to provide the help needed so desperately by so many.

If enacted, the Excellence in Mental Health Act would go a long way toward restoring Medicaid funding for community mental health centers nationwide, including our programs to [describe your state or city programs, the kinds of services they provide]. The programs provide lifelines for people struggling with serious anxiety, acute episodes of depression and those contemplating suicide [add drug treatment if that’s part of your mission; reword the preceding as appropriate to your situation].

The Excellence Act would ensure that community behavioral health centers cover a broad range of mental health and addiction services: 24-hour crisis care, increased integration of physical and behavioral health needs, and expanded support for the often beleaguered families of people with mental health issues. The Act would provide care for as many as 1.5 million Americans living with mental illness, including an estimated 200,000 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with behavioral health needs.

In the wake of recent tragedies, polls find that eight in 10 Americans support spending more money on mental health programs. Sadly, that support does not translate into certain passage of the Excellence Act.The legislation was to be considered as part of the gun control package debated in Congress earlier this year. Ultimately, the gun legislation proved too controversial.When it was defeated, the Excellence Act was set aside. Fortunately, the bill’s bipartisan sponsors promise to bring it up again later this year.

EITHER/OR OPTION [Note: select one of the following options for your op-ed, either the fiscal option or the gun option].

FISCAL OPTION:While nearly every legislatorin Washington recognizes the need to make quality mental health care more available, some are reluctant to support additional federal spending in this time of tight budgets. Such concern is understandable. But a quick look at the Republican sponsors of the Senate legislation show that its supporters include Roy Blunt of Missouri and Marco Rubio of Florida, hardly tax and spend liberals. They recognize, as do so many Americans, that we need to get help to those facing mental illness. We can’t say “no” to everything; saying “yes” to increased mental health services is the right thing to do.

OR

GUN OPTION: Recent gun tragedies – at the Aurora, Colo., theatre; Newton, Conn.; school; and Santa Monica, Calif., college – have reinforced the belief among law enforcement, mental health providers and advocates that we must do more to improve the availability of quality mental health care. For too long, our society has neglected mental health services and, as a result, we have jeopardized our people and our communities, both in terms of quality of life as well as economic impact.

EITHER/OR OPTION:[Note: select one of the following options based on your Members’ of Congress support for the Excellence Act. A list of supporters can be found at the end of this document.]

EITHERWe are greatly encouraged by the support given the act by our senator/senators and/or representative/representatives [insert name/names], and hope you will tell [him/her/they] how much you appreciate that support.

OR

We hope you will encourage [our senator/senators and/or representative/representatives [insert name/names]to support the bill.

Those living with mental illness can be helped. Each and every day, programs like ours help people address their illnesses and change their lives. [insert a description or descriptions of a particular person or group of people whose lives your programs have turned around – preferably as specific as possible: a troubled teenager contemplating suicide, a single of mother of three who was suffering from severe depression, etc.]

But we can’t provide that help without adequate funding. Providing community-based mental health services is a good investment. When people receive timely and effective treatment, it reduces expensive ER visits and hospitalizations. Law enforcement officials recognize the potential savings as well, having seen their resources increasingly diverted to address unmet mental health needs.

Fully funding mental health programs is a moral and social issue affecting each of us. Please urge [senator/senators and/or representative/representatives] to support this bill.

# # #

In italics, write in a brief description of your role: XXX is the CEO of YYY, which provides community mental health services throughout the state of ZZZ.

Please Note: For your ready reference the Senate and House sponsors and co-sponsors are listed below.

Senate Sponsors

  1. Sen. Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)
  2. Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]
  1. Sen. Reed, Jack[D-RI]
  2. Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
  3. Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
  4. Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
  5. Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV]
  6. Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]
  7. Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]

Senate Co-Sponsors

  1. Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
  2. Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
  3. Sen. Mikulski, Barbara A. [D-MD]
  4. Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]
  5. Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
  6. Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
  7. Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
  8. Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
  9. Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

House Sponsors

  1. Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-6]
  2. Rep. Lance, Leonard [R-NJ-7]
  3. Rep. Waxman, Henry A. [D-CA-33]
  4. Rep. Engel, Eliot L. [D-NY-16]
  5. Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1]
  6. Rep. Jenkins, Lynn [R-KS-2]
  7. Rep. Capps, Lois [D-CA-24]

House Co-Sponsors

  1. Rep. Loebsack, David [D-IA-2]
  2. Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]
  3. Rep. Runyan, Jon [R-NJ-3]
  4. Rep. Barber, Ron [D-AZ-2]
  5. Rep. Levin, Sander M. [D-MI-9]
  6. Rep. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA-5]
  7. Rep. Eshoo, Anna G. (D-CA-18)
  8. Rep. Keating,William R. (D-MA-9)
  9. Rep. Tonko, Paul D. (D-NY-20)
  10. Rep. King, Peter T. (R-NY-2)