(Aug. 2, 2016) The need for national mental illness reform was prominently featured at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
Demi Lovato
spoke directly to the need for reform during a speech at the Democratic National Convention, noting that like millions of Americans, “I am living with mental illness.” Lovato said she was lucky to have received treatment, but that too many Americans continue to suffer without care.
“Untreated mental illness can lead to devastating consequences including suicide, substance abuse and long-term medical issues,” Lovato said.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, speaking at a NAMI Ohio Republican National Convention event, explained, “[W]e need to rethink our whole model of mental illness and substance abuse care].” He also criticized policies which lead to the criminalization of mental illness.
“The theory in the '60s and '70s was to close state hospitals and take care of everyone” Gingrich said. “We did. We put them in prison.”
The need to decriminalize mental illness was also emphasized by Koch Industries General Counsel, Mark Holden. Holden noted that the Koch Brothers have long been champions of criminal justice reform and said the criminal code's goal should be "enhancing public safety" rather than "putting mentally ill people in prison as a way station or just kind of dealing with vagrants or people with drug problems."
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also took time to focus on mental illness and the loss of vital psychiatric hospital beds in her speech closing out the final night of the 2016 Democratic Convention. Clinton noted the lack of mental health facilities in Iowa, an issue first highlighted by the Treatment Advocacy Center in our June 2016 report, Going, Going, Gone.
Iowa now has the fewest beds per 100,000 population in the nation, which has led to people being stranded in jails and hospitals awaiting care.
As we move towards the presidential election, mental health – particularly our national psychiatric bed shortage – is a pressing issue that deserves bipartisan attention. Fortunately, both political parties are talking about mental illness; now they just need to do something about it.
Visit #aBedInstead to learn more about the Treatment Advocacy Center’s campaign to address the national psychiatric bed crisis.
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