State of the Mind: America 2002

NAMI E-News February 1, 2002 Vol. 02-48

STATE OF MIND: AMERICA 2002

A NATIONAL TOWN HALL BROADCAST FROM THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND THE MUSEUM OF TELEVISION AND RADIO IN NEW YORK CITY

With Rosalynn Carter, Tipper Gore, Marian Wright Edelman, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher and Peter Kramer, M.D. and musical guest Judy Collins

Hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin and John Hockenberry of the radio series, The Infinite Mind

This landmark public radio broadcast will explore the mental health of Americans as the nation emerges from the shocks of 2001 into the challenges of 2002. It is available for broadcast to public radio stations across the country free of charge.

State of Mind: America 2002 is available to public radio stations by satellite feed on February 13th, 14th, and 19th. By contacting public radio stations in their communities as soon as possible, NAMI members can ensure this important mental health programming will be heard.

State of Mind: America 2002 also provides an important opportunity for NAMI members to suggest that local public radio stations follow-up with their own programming about mental illnesses, treatment and support in their home communities. For example, the national broadcast could be followed by a roundtable discussion or call-in psychiatrists, consumers and family members, talking about local experiences and needs. The national broadcast also can be coordinated with public service announcements about where people can turn for help and support in local communities or serve as the kick-off for a special series of local news stories about mental illness issues.

Please remember! Only satellite feeds will occur on February 13th, 14th or 19th. Actual broadcasts will come later, depending on the station's programming schedule.

NAMI members can visit www.theinfinitemind.com/stations.htm to find those radio stations that currently broadcast The Infinite Mind and where to can inquire about broadcast dates and time.

If your local public station does not carry The Infinite Mind, NAMI members should ask their local public radio station that State of Mind: America 2002 be broadcast as a one-time, special public service. A complete list of public stations can be found at www.npr.org/members/. In contacting a station, ask to speak with or address an email, fax, or regular letter to the Program Director or Program Manager. For more information about how to work with radio stations on this project, please feel free to contact Laura Newmark, The Infinite Mind's Outreach Coordinator, at Laura@LCMedia.com or 212-765-6600, ext. 11.

State of Mind: America 2002 is produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media, the team behind the award-winning weekly radio program The Infinite Mind, a weekly public radio series on the art and science of the human mind. Hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin. The Infinite Mind won NAMI's national media award for Outstanding Educational Programming in 2001, and reaches half a million Americans in more than 170 radio markets every week. This broadcast is a special production sponsored by radio stations WNYC/New York and WAMU/Washington, D.C.

More About the Program

State of Mind: America 2002 will be hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin at the National Press Club and by veteran radio and television anchor John Hockenberry at the Museum of Television and Radio. The program will be taped simultaneously before live audiences in New York and Washington. It will include expert guests, panel discussions, commentary, live performance and reports from around the United States. Participants will include: U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher; the Rev. William Sloane Coffin; Tipper Gore, Honorary Chair of the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign; former First Lady Rosalynn Carter; Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund; pollster Richard Rockwell; National Institute of Mental Health Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program Director Dr. Dennis Charney; Dr. Marilyn Benoit, President of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists; Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, consulting psychologist to Sesame Street; psychiatrist and author Dr. Peter Kramer; former Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph A. Califano, Jr., now of the Columbia University Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction; and psychiatrist Dr. Carol North, who conducted ground-breaking research after the Oklahoma City bombing. State of Mind: America 2002 will also feature a musical performance by singer-songwriter Judy Collins.

State of Mind: America 2002 will address some of the following points-which may be helpful in "pitching" the broadcast to local radio stations:

	How are we doing?
	Thirteen states and four cities have experienced an increased demand for alcohol and drug treatment since September 11th, according to a telephone survey of the individuals who oversee offices of substance abuse services in the states, the District of Columbia and the 10 largest U.S. cities
	According to Dr. Vivian Boyd of the International Association of Counseling Services, there has been a marked increase in traffic at university counseling centers. She estimates a 17-22% increase across the country, with a greater increase in centers closer to New York City.

Children

	The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that between three and five percent of all children in the U.S. suffer from an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. That means that on average every classroom in the United States has at least one child suffering from ADHD.
	The U.S. has a severe shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists. In the 1980s, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, noting the ongoing increase in mental illnesses and disorders among children and the then-existing shortage of child psychiatrists, estimated that by the year 2000 the U.S. would need about 30,000 child psychiatrists. Right now, there are about 8,000 child psychiatrists nationwide.
	Children and adolescents can and do have severe and persistent mental illnesses. In the United States, one in 10 children and adolescents suffers from mental illness severe enough to cause impairment. But in any given year, fewer than one in five of these children receive needed treatment.
	A 1999 report by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Families on the Brink, sets forth how this lack of care may result in lasting harm to the affected children and their families and broad dissatisfaction with treatment options and capacity. "The overall picture is one of major barriers to care with devastating results for the children and the families…In more than half the families, 55 percent, one of the parents had to change jobs or quit to take care of their ailing offspring. Fifty-nine percent said they felt like they were pushed to the breaking point."

Access and Parity

Every year in the U.S. 113 billion dollars in productivity is lost due to untreated mental illness. Despite the support of a majority of Members of Congress in both the Senate and House of Representatives, a small group of House leaders in December 2001 killed legislation to provide more equitable coverage for mental illnesses in health insurance plans. In doing so, they also denied the American people the same protection that Members of Congress and other federal workers currently have.

	According to the Rand Corporation, "spending less than $500 over a two year period to help treat depression in a primary care setting would save business $3,836 during that time."
	Services for mental health can reduce crime. Untreated illness can lead to violence and incarceration. By helping the mentally ill, these risks are curbed and the savings to our communities far surpass any increase in spending.
	Parity is affordable--according to the Congressional Budget Office, the proposed parity legislation would raise insurance rates less than one percent.
	The current lack of equal health coverage breeds discrimination against people with mental illness.
	A mental illness such as depression has a treatment success rate of 80 percent, significantly higher than that of heart disease.

Mental Health and Terrorism

On December 12th the Senate passed legislation authorizing a number of grant programs to respond to certain mental health needs relating to terrorism. The Post Terrorism Mental Health Improvement Act authorizes:

	grants to states, localities, and public or private nonprofit entities for training mental health professionals regarding evidence-based treatment for victims of disasters;
	funding for the development of coordinated response plans for addressing the mental health needs that arise from a disaster (including the response efforts of private organizations);
	a grant program (to address the long-term mental health needs of those areas directly affected by the attacks of September 11th) to provide outreach and needed treatment for individuals suffering from "serious psychiatric illness."

We need public discussion in our communities about how best to use these grant monies; about who has the greatest mental health needs right now and about how, together, we can meet those needs.

Resilience

State of the Mind: America 2002 will offer stories of hope and support. People will discuss what they have done to cope with stress, fear, and uncertainty, including reaching out to the greater community, setting new priorities, and approaching fresh challenges with flexibility and even humor.

Coping With Economic Downturn

	The national unemployment rate stood at 5.8 percent in December 2001. In some communities that rate is much higher. For example, the unemployment rate for African-Americans was 10.2 percent.
	Ford Motor Company is cutting 35,000 jobs and closing plants in five communities around the nation. The collapse of Enron has cost the Houston area 4000 jobs and an important source of support for local arts and charity organizations. How can people and organizations cope with the psychological stress brought on by financial changes?
	More than a million non-farm jobs were lost in the last four months of 2001. 8.3 million people were unemployed as of December.

Local Programming

In planning companion local programs, here are some questions you may want to address about your own community:

	What kind of impact are the events of September 11th and the recession having on the mental health on people? What's being done to help those affected?
	Where can people go for help? Do the options change depending on whether a person has health insurance?
	As a community, what can we do to take care of one another? What symbols, institutions and connections are important?
	What can individuals do to get more comprehensive mental health care in a town, city, state and the nation as a whole?

For more information, NAMI affiliates, members, or radio station program directors can contact Lichtenstein Creative Media at LCM@LCMEDIA.com or call Laura Newmark at 212-765-6600.

The NAMI E-News is an electronic newsletter delivering the latest in federal action alerts, legislative and policy updates, and NAMI press releases. Provided free of charge as a public service, the NAMI E-News is read by more than 16,500 NAMI members, policymakers, federal and state legislators, media, providers, health care policy experts, and others interested in improving the lives of individuals with severe mental illnesses and their families.

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Thank you.

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