National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery | NCMHR

Cross-Disability

National Disability Leadership Alliance - Principles to Ensure Consumer-Driven Managed Care

The National Disability Leadership Alliance has developed the following principles and urges that they be applied fully by both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and individual state Medicaid programs as they examine ways to broaden the application of managed care to beneficiaries with significant disabilities in the interest of containing spiraling health care costs. The National Disability Leadership Alliance (NDLA) is a coalition of 14 leading national disability organizations (including NCMHR) led by individuals living with significant disabilities themselves and supported by grassroots constituencies living with disabilities in all states and the District of Columbia. Click here to read the document (PDF, 239KB, 6 pages).

UN Torture Rapporteur Calls for Ban on Solitary Confinement of People with Mental Disabilities

The Rapporteur calls for a complete ban against use of solitary confinement for people with disabilities, saying "there is no justification to hold people with mental problems in solitary confinement for it only exacerbates their problems instead of protecting them. Click here to watch the webcast of his remarks.

National Coalition and Advocates Seek Disability Focus in National Healthcare Reform Implementation

We urge you to include the improvement of the health of people with disabilities, including those with chronic health conditions, as a major goal in the National Health Quality Strategy and Plan, recognize people with disabilities as major stakeholders in all quality initiatives, and make sure people with disabilities are included in the healthy people/community health initiatives. Click here to read the entire letter (PDF, 31KB, 6 pages).

Dan Fisher, Andy Imparato, Ari Ne'eman, Marty Ford
Suellen Galbraith, Bob Williams, Kelly Buckla

Disability Leadership Meet With White House Staff on Health Reform

On August 27, 2009 as a follow-up to the meeting that President Obama had with disability community representatives on July 24, a group of advocates for home and community-based long-term services and supports met with Nancy-Ann DeParle and other senior staff at the White House to discuss the Community First Choice - Option. [Click to view full story...]

National Coalition invited to historic signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Washington DC, July 24, 2009

Daniel Fisher, M.D., Ph.D., represented the National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations at President Obama's historic signing of (the commitment to sign) the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The actual signing will be carried out at the UN on July 30 by the President’s special assistant Valerie Jarret. Daniel Fisher wrote the following note to the White House Office of Public Engagement which conducted the event: [Click to view] [Visit www.whitehouse.gov/ope]

Justice For All Action Network at the White House

Last week, the Steering Committee of a new national disability-led coalition called the Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN) met for an hour with two senior White House officials to discuss some of our common policy priorities.

Attending for the White House were Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy; and Jeff Crowley, Director of the National AIDS Office and senior adviser on disability issues within the Domestic Policy Council. Attending for JFAAN were [Click to view full story...]

Please note: The Justice for All Action Network is now the National Disability Leadership Alliance (www.disabilityleadership.org)

Mobilizing Our Community as a Culture of Voters

Rachel Freund at an April Fool's Day Rally in Harrisburg

Rachel Freund, Policy Advocate Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers' Association, at an April Fool's Day Rally in Harrisburg to Raise the Personal Needs Allowance for 9500 Pennsylvanians (most of them mental health consumers) who live on $60 per month. "Living on $60 is No Joke!"

"The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men." – Lyndon Johnson

Voting does more than elect politicians. Through the act of voting, people become dynamic players in the political arena where policy decisions are made and both their political and personal power grows. They become active citizens, connected with the community of voters.

Unfortunately, according to US Census data, people with disabilities, including mental health disabilities, are 15% less likely to be registered to vote and 20% less likely to vote if registered. The issue of mobilizing our community as a 'culture of voters' is multi-faceted and requires a comprehensive approach to remedy. As an organizer focusing on cross-disability advocacy and citizen participation over the past six years, I've been fortunate to work with a community of skilled advocates. Here are three steps we have learned can get results...
[For full story by Rachel Freund click here]

Congressional Leadership, Justice For All Action Network Kick Off 20th Anniversary of the ADA Celebration

At a press event at the Capitol Building on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-5) and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5) joined the leadership of the Justice For All Action Network (JFAAN) in kicking off the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To read the full press release, click here.

Interview with Kareem Dale, Obama's top disability adviser on ADA's 20th anniversary
[Click here to read the interview]

Remarks by the President on 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
July 26, 2010 [Click here to read]

Executive Order-- Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities
July 26, 2010 [Click here to read]

Encourage the US to Ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Excerpts from a letter by the Honorable Tony Coelho, US-International Council on Disability on the 20th Anniversary of the ADA

Click here to read the entire letter

I ask you to join with me in supporting USICD in the important effort of making CRPD ratification in the United States a reality. When the Obama Administration completes its review and submits the CRPD to the U.S. Senate for its consent for ratification, we must come together as the American disability community and proclaim “Yes to Ratification.” Today, 87 countries have already ratified the CRPD. By joining in this community, we can share our great expertise and leadership in furtherance of the democratic values enshrined in the CRPD. The CRPD is good for people with disabilities, good for America, and good for the world.

Let us take this opportunity to deliver our unified message to the U.S. Senate. Please sign on to a letter prepared by USICD to Senators Kerry and Lugar of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to indicate your support for the CRPD. Please click here to read and sign onto this important letter.