(Jan. 15, 2015) News that former bartender Michael Hoyt planned to poison House Speaker John Boehner underscores the need for national reform of our broken mental health care system, advocates for mental illness treatment law reform say.
Several advocacy groups working on behalf of those with serious mental illness and their families called upon Speaker Boehner to support legislation soon to be introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy (R., Pa.) to help individuals with serious mental illness.
On Oct. 29, 2014 Hoyt called the police and “told an officer he was Jesus Christ and he was going to kill Boehner because Boehner was mean to him at the country club and because Boehner is responsible for Ebola,” according to a complaint filed in federal court in Cincinnati. Hoyt has been indicted for planning Boehner’s murder and hospitalized for psychiatric observation.
Rep. Murphy, a psychologist and the leading advocate for mental health care reform in Congress, last week announced he will soon reintroduce the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” which seeks to increase treatment and services for individuals with serious mental illnesses. Advocacy groups called on Speaker Boehner to support the legislation.
Doris A. Fuller, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, said, “Our broken mental health care system is designed to treat people only after they have disintegrated to being dangerous. We need to reform our system so they get the treatment they need when they need it, not after they are arrested or have hurt someone.”
“Our country needs to provide treatment before tragedy for those with serious mental illness, not only to help some of our country’s most vulnerable people but to make our country a healthier and safer society for all,” said Asra Nomani, cofounder of Treatment Before Tragedy. “Fortunately, tragedy has been averted for Speaker John Boehner’s family, but families around the country face profound dangers from untreated serious mental illness, and we as a nation need to find solutions.”
Hoyt was indicted last week on charges of planning to murder Boehner after being fired from his job as a bartender at Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester, Ohio.
“The plot by Michael Hoyt to poison Speaker Boehner illustrates the importance of passing the ‘Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act’ when it is reintroduced,” said DJ Jaffe, executive director of the Mental Illness Policy Org. “By ensuring treatment for the most seriously ill, Congress can help make the lives of patients, public, police and the general public safer.”
Several advocacy groups working on behalf of those with serious mental illness and their families called upon Speaker Boehner to support legislation soon to be introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy (R., Pa.) to help individuals with serious mental illness. On Oct. 29, 2014 Hoyt called the police and “told an officer he was Jesus Christ and he was going to kill Boehner because Boehner was mean to him at the country club and because Boehner is responsible for Ebola,” according to a complaint filed in federal court in Cincinnati. Hoyt has been indicted for planning Boehner’s murder and hospitalized for psychiatric observation.
Rep. Murphy, a psychologist and the leading advocate for mental health care reform in Congress, last week announced he will soon reintroduce the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” which seeks to increase treatment and services for individuals with serious mental illnesses. Advocacy groups called on Speaker Boehner to support the legislation.
Doris A. Fuller, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, said, “Our broken mental health care system is designed to treat people only after they have disintegrated to being dangerous. We need to reform our system so they get the treatment they need when they need it, not after they are arrested or have hurt someone.”
“Our country needs to provide treatment before tragedy for those with serious mental illness, not only to help some of our country’s most vulnerable people but to make our country a healthier and safer society for all,” said Asra Nomani, cofounder of Treatment Before Tragedy. “Fortunately, tragedy has been averted for Speaker John Boehner’s family, but families around the country face profound dangers from untreated serious mental illness, and we as a nation need to find solutions.”
Hoyt was indicted last week on charges of planning to murder Boehner after being fired from his job as a bartender at Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester, Ohio.
“The plot by Michael Hoyt to poison Speaker Boehner illustrates the importance of passing the ‘Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act’ when it is reintroduced,” said DJ Jaffe, executive director of the Mental Illness Policy Org. “By ensuring treatment for the most seriously ill, Congress can help make the lives of patients, public, police and the general public safer.”