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NAMI Minnesota Legislative Update September 13, 2020Special Session Ends Without Mental Health FundingThe Legislature convened for the fourth special session of the year. It was another contentious hearing as the legislature reviewed Governor Walz's extension of the public health emergency. Once again, the Senate voted to end Governor Walz's emergency powers but the House did not. This will ensure that the eviction moratorium will still be in place and extend important waivers and exceptions offered by the Department of Human Services.The Senate also voted on the confirmation of Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelly. NAMI Minnesota has been a strong supporter of Commissioner Kelly and his agency's work to better enforce mental health parity regulations. In a hearing last month, the Mental Health Legislative Network HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" submitted a letter supporting his work and urging the Senate to confirm him. Sadly, Commissioner Kelly was not confirmed. We hope that this will not disrupt the important work at the Department of Commerce, especially efforts on mental health parity.Lots of important work was left unfinished. The legislature did not pass a bonding bill and did not take action to distribute emergency CARES Act funds for community-based mental health providers. NAMI Minnesota worked with Rep. Edelson, Sen. Relph, and mental health providers to HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" introduce legislation to stabilize our system. While we knew it is was unlikely that the legislature would pass this bill during the September special session, we are counting on members and supporters to ramp up the pressure so that it can pass during the next special session - which will only happen if YOU make calls and send emails. If you haven't already, please contact HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Governor Walz, HYPERLINK "mailto:rep.melissa.hortman@house.mn" \t "_blank" Speaker Hortman, HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Majority Leader Gazelka, and HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" your state representative and state senator. They need to hear from NAMI members about how important this issue is. Here's what you have to say:My name is __________ and I am a NAMI Minnesota member that lives in __________. I'm reaching out today to urge you to support legislation authored by Rep. Edelson and Sen. Relph to allocate COVID-19 relief funds to the mental health community. Other key parts of the healthcare system like hospitals and nursing homes have received support - even the zoo got funding - but there's been almost nothing for mental health. With more people than ever struggling with their mental health and people with serious mental illnesses - including children - are struggling to receive the support they need it's critical that we support our mental health providers. (briefly share your personal story)Please provide relief funds before our mental health providers have to lay off more staff or shut their doors for good. Thank you for your time and support.Thank you to everyone who has contacted their legislators about this important issue. We won't be able to secure funding for our struggling mental health providers unless we all take action. Please contact HYPERLINK "mailto:ssmith@" \t "_blank" Sam Smith if you receive a response or a legislator has a question about this bill. We so appreciate your advocacy!It's Time to Turn Out the Mental Health VoteIt is only 50 days until the 2020 General Election. This still might seem like a long time, but it is so important for NAMI Members and supporters to make plans for how they will cast their ballot in 2020. In this election, Minnesota will be a key state with important votes for the U.S. President, US Senate, all our Congressional seats, and all of the seats in the State House and Senate.Minnesota is consistently among the states with the highest voter turnout in the entire country. This is in no small part because our elections are safe and secure, and we make it easy for citizens to register to vote. Here's what you need to do to make sure you can help Minnesota lead the nation as a mental health voter.Your first step will be to make sure you are registered to vote at your current address. Even if just moved to a new place ten minutes from where you were previously registered to vote, you will still have to update your voter registration information. To make sure you're registered, all you have to do is go to the HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Secretary of State's website. If you need to update your registration - or register to vote for the first time - you can do so HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" online here. In order to register online, you must have either a Minnesota Driver's license, Minnesota ID card, or the last four digits of your social security number. You can still register to vote without one of these options, but you will need to do so with a paper application.Once you confirmed your voter registration, the next step will be for you to make a plan for when you want to vote. Most people have three ways to cast their ballot:Vote By Mail: Any registered voter can choose to vote by mail. You DO NOT need to give a reason why you need to vote by mail. However, if you do want to vote by mail you should request a ballot as soon as possible. While there is not an official deadline to request an absentee ballot, you must give the government enough time to mail you a ballot and for you to postmark it by election day. Postal Office services have slowed down, so the sooner you request a ballot the better. You can HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" click here to request an absentee ballot.Vote Early in Person: Registered voters can also vote early in person if they would rather not vote on election day, but would prefer not to vote by mail. If you are not registered to vote, you can register to vote in person when you vote early. In order to vote early in person, you will need to go to your local county election office. Hours will vary, so you should check with your county election office about your options. You HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" can learn more from the Secretary of State.Vote on Election Day: As always, voters will still have the option to voter in-person on election day. Your local polling place will be open between 7 AM - 8 PM on November 3rd. You can find your HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" polling location here.As you make your vote plan, you can also HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" check out your sample ballot to see who you will be voting for. While there are a lot of high profile elections this year, you will also be voting on many other important candidates and referendums. Use your sample ballot to get educated on every vote you will cast up and down the ballot. Please remember that NAMI Minnesota does not endorse candidates or political parties. However, we are happy to answer any questions you have about how to vote in the upcoming election.Thank you for being a mental health voter!Find out who represents you HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Click hereNews from the State LevelNAMI Walk Just Around the CornerIt's just 12 days until the 2020 NAMI Walk. If you haven't already, HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" please register now and do your part. Join a team, make a donation that feels important to you, and engage your friends and colleagues on how they can get involved with NAMI Minnesota and our mission to provide education, support, and advocacy for people with mental illnesses and their families.NAMI Hosts Panel on Decriminalizing Mental IllnessesOn Thursday NAMI Minnesota moderated a conversation about the overrepresentation of people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system. Panelists discussed the underlying causes of the criminalization of mental illnesses, the impact of recent police reform legislation, expanding innovations and partnerships in the system, and addressing systemic racism.During the discussion, Rep. Ruth Richardson commented on the work to be done to address racism in our healthcare systems, “For many communities of color, there are often times deep distrusts about health systems… Until we are ready to reckon with that past and the present of racism we will continue to see an overrepresentation of people of color in jail and having heightened symptoms related to mental health.”Thanks to Rep. Richardson, Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Chair Warren Limmer, Chief Kelly McCarthy, Chief Jeff Potts, and Steve Wickelgren from Minnesota CIT for being on our panel. Keep an eye out for more lunch hour policy panels in the months to come!A recent HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" article included information about alternatives and another HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" article about a project in St Paul.Join us as four young adults share why we must #Vote4MentalHealthWhen: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. EDTOur panelists:Addyson Moore, NAMI Minnesota, MNPaul Charbonneau, NAMI Seattle/NAMI Eastside, WAJeremy Fine, NAMI Orange County/NAMI Wake County, NCCharlotte Horton, NAMI Southwest Ohio, OHThis webinar will include personal stories from four young adults, describing their struggles with mental health and the systems they had to navigate to get the help that they needed. Attendees will better understand the importance of educating themselves on the impacts of different policy issues and elected officials before they vote in the 2020 elections. NAMI will also share how to find key voter information and get involved to #Vote4MentalHealth. HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Register for the Webinar Governor Walz Declares September to be Suicide Prevention MonthGovernor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan have declared this September as Suicide Prevention Awareness month. This has been developed by the Children's Cabinet in partnership with other key stakeholders to raise awareness death by suicide and the services and supports Minnesota offers to prevent suicide, including mobile crisis teams and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or through the Crisis Text Line by texting MN to 741-741. NAMI Minnesota looks forward to this effort from the Walz Administration to engage the state on suicide prevention. To learn more, you can read the HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" full proclamation here. The Governor also proclaimed September Recovery Month. That proclamation can be found HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" here. News from Federal LevelMental Health Providers At Risk Due to COVID-19More people than ever need mental health and substance use disorder treatment. Despite this surge in demand, community-based mental health providers face declining revenues as they adjust their service model to safely provide treatment during COVID-19. To better understand the pressures that community mental health and substance use disorder providers face, the National Council commissioned a survey of their members. HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" Their findings were disturbing:Demand for behavioral health services is increasing, with 52% of behavioral health organizations seeing an increase in the demand for services;Capacity is diminishing as a result of the pandemic, and 54% of organizations have had to close programs while 65% have had to cancel, reschedule or turn away patients; andOrganizational viability and access to care for millions is at risk of disappearing.?Organizations have lost, on average, nearly 23% of their annual revenue, and 39% believe they can only survive six months or less.There is a clear need for immediate action at the state and federal level to stabilize our community mental health system. The National Council estimates that mental health and substance use disorder providers need a $38.5 billion infusion of emergency funds to prevent a large-scale health crisis, with a focus on providers serving low-income people who have medical assistance. Any future COVID-19 relief package must include emergency funding for the mental health system. (National Council)Senate Fails to Pass Skinny COVID-19 Relief PackageNegotiations fell apart in the Senate this week around the passage of the Senate Majority's skinny COVID-19 package. While much smaller than the House proposal, the Senate bill included important funding provisions on small-business relief, continuing the unemployment insurance at the reduced rate of $300 per week, an increase in the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, and other items. This will push a potential COVID-19 relief package into the future, making it more difficult to pass legislation the closer we get to the election. (National Council)Updates from NAMI MinnesotaNAMI Legislative CommitteeMeetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month at 6 PM. To be added to the email list, contact HYPERLINK "mailto:ssmith@" \t "_blank" Sam Smith. If you missed the complete summary of the 2020 Legislative Sessions, click HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" here HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" . NAMI Minnesota | 1919 University Ave. W., Ste. 400 | St. Paul, MN 55104 HYPERLINK "mailto:namihelps@" \t "_blank" namihelps@ | HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" htttp:// 651-645-2948 | 1-888-NAMI-HELPS HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ? HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" ABOUT NAMI HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" GET INVOLVED HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" EDUCATION HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" SUPPORT HYPERLINK "" \t "_blank" CONTACT USCopyright ? 2020. All Rights Reserved. ................
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