Accompanying traditional New Year’s resolutions is the lesser-publicized tendency for individuals to fall short of expectations; so the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) recently released “five robust resolutions” regarding realistic legislative goals for 2017 and expressing strong resolve to follow through.
With the convening of the 115th Congress in Washington, D.C., NAMI listed five major goals for this year: invest in mental health and innovation; promote early intervention; improve care integration; increase support for caregivers, military personnel and veterans; and end the criminalization of mental illness.
“2016 was a year of major strides for mental health policy,” the organization stated on its website. “With the start of the New Year, NAMI resolves to fight more boldly than ever before to ensure that people with mental health conditions get the quality mental health care they need to experience recovery.”
NAMI’s CEO Mary Giliberti noted that while Congress passed noteworthy mental health legislation last year, the organization’s work is far from done.
While acknowledging a major victory with the December Senate passage of Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act as well as the enactment of the 21 st Century Cures Act in the same month, Giliberti reminded the public that a long road remains ahead regarding the decriminalization of mental illness.
NAMI’s recommendations include more accessible behavioral crisis response, follow-up and respite care programs, and formation of community-based teams.
“We look forward to working with our bipartisan champions in Congress to ensure that the progress we made serves as a foundation for improving mental health care in America,” Giliberti said.
