Dear readers,
Due to your steadfast support and advocacy, we are thrilled to report that on June 4th, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously in favor of the resolution to urge the Governor to increase psychiatric capacity for serious mental illnesses. Read Resolution R-20-153 here. The resolution calls for adding Serious Mental Illness (SMI) & Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED) to the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) Exclusion Waiver for Substance Use Disorders (SUD). (We apologize for the acronym soup)!
Thanks to Councilmember Williams and his staff Micah and Keith for all of their amazing support and putting up with the surprise visits and phone calls. Thanks also to Councilmember Moreno for signing on a cosponsor!
Watch a replay of the discussion, comments and vote by clicking on this link and then scrolling down to agenda item #43; Or alternatively, go directly to an excerpt of the clip.
More Great News From Terrebonne Parish
In addition, the Terrebonne Council also voted on a resolution to urge the Governor to increase psychiatric capacity for serious mental illnesses by adding SMI/SED to the CMS IMD Exclusion waiver for SUD. Like in New Orleans, The resolution passed unanimously!
Special thanks to the Treatment Advocacy Center for their many years of advocacy to change federal policies that permit Louisiana Parishes to help our neighbors and loved-ones with serious no-fault mental illnesses.
But mostly, thanks so much to all of you for your perseverance and dedication to fight to end incarceration, homelessness and death for people struggling with life-long diseases – despite having to endure day to day unspeakable tragedies. We stand with you and hear your voices.
Step by step we WILL build a full streamlined continuum of coordinated psychiatric treatment and care for people living with un/undertreated serious mental illnesses!
Stay in touch to learn what’s next. We post updates on Facebook, Twitter and our Website.
We are forging ahead together – the time for systems reform is NOW!