On April 30th, 2014, we sent an urgent bulletin to our newsletter list about the 'Murphy Bill,' also known as the 'Helping Families in Mental Health C

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On April 30th, 2014, we sent an urgent bulletin to our newsletter list about the 'Murphy Bill,' also known as the 'Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act' or 'house Bill 3717.' (For those who missed the original bulletin, relevant excerpts - including all the basics about what the Murphy Bill is - are included in the second half of this e-mail.)

We are writing to tell you that the threat to our movement, our work, and our valued programs and supports is not over.

This Bill was initiated and continues to be pushed by Representative Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania. With election day just past, we now know that Murphy's own Republican party has retained control of the House and gained majority in the Senate. This means that the threat is potentially bigger than ever.

murphy award

This action on the part of NAMI-NYS demonstrates clear support for the Murphy Bill and flies in the face of our movement, the traumas many of us have suffered in not having our voices heard and having our rights violated, the impact of the lack of helpful resources and the force of unhelpful ones, and all our hard work to make progress in supporting the rights and choices of those who have been given psychiatric diagnosis and/or are receiving services in the mental health system.

To learn more about the conference and the award directly from NAMI's website, click here.

The Mental Patients Liberation Alliance is organizing action to take a stand against NAMI and the presentation of this award to Tim Murphy in an event now being called, 'Stand Against New York National Alliance for Mental Illness.'

A message from the Alliance:

The Mental Patients Liberation Alliance (The Alliance) invites you to join with other proponents of human rights in mental health on Friday, November 14, 2014 and STAND UP to NAMI-NYS and oppose its unanimous and unequivocal support for Bill H.R. 3717. With sweeping disregard for the avalanche of concerns detailed by thousands of people with relevant lived experiences in New York State and nationwide, NAMI-NYS will “stand united” to honor Rep. Tim Murphy with their Legislative Champion Award.

NAMI-NYS has drawn a line

The Alliance has reserved a hotel room at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, 660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, New York for November 13 and 14, 2014. This offers on-sight space for participants to organize, plan and further develop an Active Response.

A conference room is reserved nearby at the Holiday Inn, 205 Wolf Road for the day of November 14 to hold teach-ins. The teach-in opportunity is hosted by The Alliance and the National Empowerment Center. A round table discussion will begin at 10 a.m. to further organize. Invitations have been extended to several organizations to provide information around the Murphy Bill, such as: individual and united efforts to challenge the bill, lack of constitutionality, international opposition, and other pertinent topics. Information will be updated as specific segments are scheduled.

In addition to the teach-ins, individuals and groups are planning diverse activities throughout the day, such as information sharing/distribution, outreach to NAMI members, and press conferences.

Join us on November 14th

Participants will gather together at the Desmond Hotel at 5:00 p.m., Friday, November 14 to demonstrate solidarity in opposition to NAMI-NYS and the Murphy Bill. Several members of the Western Mass RLC are planning on traveling out to Albany to join this event.

Contact: The Alliance @ 1-800-654-7227
George Ebert at georgeebert@yahoo.com

You can also visit their Facebook event page here.

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murphy factoid

Murphy and his colleagues are not the only recipients of pharmaceutical funding. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is also the recipient of a substantial amount of pharmaceutical funding. In fact, it's been reported by sources like the New York Times (click here for one such article) that about 75% of NAMI's budget is made up of pharma funds.

For more information on the source of donations and interests of Murphy and other politicians, check out www.opensecrets.org, a site published by the 'Center for Responsive Politics.'

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The Barber Bill

Several months ago, a newer bill called the 'Barber Bill' (also known as the 'Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities' bill or H.R. 4574) was introduced and perceived by many as a counter to the much more conservative Murphy bill.

Many who have fought the Murphy bill feel that the Barber Bill is also insufficient. However, many others also feel that it is so much better than the Murphy bill that they are choosing to support it. Proponents of this bill say that it is a vast improvement over the Murphy Bill because it preserves funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which also means preserving funds for many peer-to-peer supports. They also say it's an improvement because it preserves funds intended for advocacy and rights protection of those in the mental health system.

Find out other reasons people are supporting the Barber Bill by looking at a statement from the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery here. The statement also includes suggestions about how to show your support, including a suggested statement of your own when contacting your own representatives to ask for their support.

However, regardless of the various perspectives on this particular piece of proposed legislation, the Barber bill may take a fatal hit if Ron Barber fails to get re-elected in his home state of Arizona. Unfortunately, although the race remains very close, it is looking likely that his opponent, Martha McSally, will take the seat. (See here for election results.) Thus, it is unclear what is next for this bill and whether or not it will survive in any form or being replaced by something that is palatable to those who supported the Barber document.

If it does survive, only you can decide if you believe the Barber bill is enough of an improvement that you wish to support it. You can read the full bill here or look at Representative Barber's website for further details here.

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Remaining Vigilant: Components of Murphy Bill May Appear in Other Legislation

While at one point, momentum for the Murphy Bill seemed to have slowed, the recent shift in control of the Senate and other factors are likely to lead to renewed efforts to get the bill passed in 2015.

One possibility to look out for is that there's been some talk of breaking up the Murphy Bill into pieces to essentially sneak components through by burying them in other legislation. Sometimes such legislation can show up where least expected (such as in budget proposals that largely focus on other matters), so there is a need to keep our eyes open in every legislative corner.

One article published on 'The Hill' (the on-line source for all news relating to Capitol Hill) - 'Shift in Strategy for GOP on Mental Health Reform,' by Elise Viebeck from June of 2014 speaks to this proposed strategy. You can read it here.

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Excerpts from April 30th Murphy Bill Bulletin:

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stop murphy bill
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Frequently Asked Questions

What do people who are IN FAVOR of the Murphy Bill say it will do?: People who argue in favor of this bill suggest that it will increase access to mental health treatment, empower family members to better support their loved ones in crisis, increase access to inpatient psychiatric beds, expand access to evidence-based treatments, expand access for people in rural communities, advance medical research, increase access to medications and so on.

What do people who argue AGAINST the Murphy Bill say in response to all that?: There are many arguments against the Murphy Bill. (See below for more details on these arguments.) However, in direct response to the above claims, opponents to the bill point out that the language it uses (including its official title, 'Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act') is intentionally designed to make it sound benign and to gloss over the potential harm and many rights violations. For example, 'increase access to mental health treatment,' in many instances, means increased force. Empowering 'family members' means taking away privacy protections and rights to confidentiality for adults in mental health services. Expanding 'access to evidence-based treatments,' means eliminating access to alternatives that don't have the funds to become 'evidence-based.' Advancing 'medical research' means severely reducing funds to other groups and organizations, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Empowerment Center (both of which provide a great deal of support to peer-to-peer options and alternatives).

Who is sponsoring this bill?: Representative Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania is the primary sponsor. However, there are also as many as 73 co-sponsors. [UPDATED for Nov, 2014: There are now 108 sponsors.] You can find the list HERE.

If my Representative is already a sponsor, can that be changed?: Yes. Although there is a process to withdrawing one's name as a co-sponsor, it can and has been done. For example, Representative Donna Christensen tweeted on April 4th that she had successfully removed her name as a co-sponsor in favor of working on an alternative bill.

What is the timeline for the bill? When might it be passed?: Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a clear answer to this question. Tim Murphy was reportedly hoping to get the bill passed in May, but co-sponsorship appears to have stalled and House Democrats are also now working on an alternative bill. It is important to note, however, that there is no time to waste with this sort of legislation. Taking action now and continuing to take action until the Bill is off the table is our best shot at getting our voice heard.

How do I stay up-to-date on what's happening with the Murphy Bill?: There are many places you can check for updates including www.mindfreedom.org or www.ncmhr.org. You can also sign up for the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery's e-mail list for updates here.. Continue reading below for more ideas.

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Calling or e-mailing your Representative is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get your voice heard. Click HERE to find contact information for your Rep.

Not sure what to say? Check out the sample statement below.

phone talk murphy
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More About What's Wrong With the Murphy Bill

It will eliminate many initiatives that promote recovery and voluntary, peer-to-peer supports. It will do this primarily through arbitrary and severe limitations on spending by SAMHSA and the virtual elimination of many peer-to-peer supports.
It will limit funding to ‘evidence-based’ practices. It will do this in spite of the fact that many ‘evidence-based’ practices are eventually demonstrated to be much less effective than originally thought. This policy will also severely limit the development of new innovative approaches that haven’t yet had time (or access to funds) to reach that status.
It will cut funding to statewide peer-to-peer networks. This includes such organizations as the Transformation Center and the National Empowerment Center (as well as two other peer-run Technical Assistance centers) and will likely eliminate the national Alternatives conference.
It will promote discrimination by furthering the unfounded and damaging connection between psychiatric diagnosis and violence. This connection has repeatedly been found to be false. (See below for more information.)
It will significantly reduce funding to protection and advocacy organizations. This includes the Disability Law Center and PAIMI (Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness) Councils, and will further place restrictions on their advocacy activities. (See below for more information.)
It will expand forced treatment by tying the receipt of federal funds to the passing of Involuntary Outpatient Commitment laws. ( In other words, in order for Massachusetts to continue to receive certain federal funds, the state would need to pass Involuntary Outpatient Commitment laws that would allow for people living in the community to be forced to take medications, attend therapy, etc. under threat of re-hospitalization. These laws are sometimes referred to as ‘Assisted Outpatient Treatment’ or ‘AOT’ laws.)
It will strip adults of certain privacy protections in a discriminatory fashion. It will do this, in part, by allowing family members to bypass HIPAA restrictions and access treatment information about them and without any regard to whether the family member may be abusive, etc.
It will partially remove the 'IMD' (Institutions of Medical Disease) exclusion. What this means is that Medicaid will be allowed to pay for institutionalization in private and state hospitals in a way that they had not previously been able. Some will argue that this is a good thing and increasing access to hospital beds. However, in actuality, it will reward the states that do the worst job of creating community-based alternatives and lead to massive federal expenditures. It will encourage needless institutionalization that violates both the ADA and the Olmstead Decision.

For additional information on the potential damages done by the Murphy Bill, view the April 23rd letter from the National Disability Leadership Alliance Letter HERE.

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meet with

Meeting your Representative in person can be much more powerful than just calling or e-mailing, but it can also be overwhelming if you're not prepared.

Here are some basic instructions for meeting with your Representative:

Visit www.house.gov/representatives/find/ to get the contact information for your Representative. Once you have done that, give the office a call and ask for the ‘scheduler’s’ name, phone and e-mail contact. Then, decide what you want to say and contact the scheduler.

Here is what Leah Harris wrote to the scheduler at her Rep’s office. You may want to use it as a model!

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To Whom It May Concern:

I am a constituent and a mental health advocate with over 13 years of experience in mental health and public policy, who is very concerned about provisions in HR 3717, the "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013."

I would like to meet with Representative Moran in his Washington, DC or Alexandria office as quickly as possible to discuss this problematic legislation.

If it's not possible to meet directly with Representative Moran, I would very much like to meet with his health aide.

Thank you for your consideration of my request.

Name
Address
Phone number

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Once your meeting is set up, consider: Planning out what you want to say ahead of time (be concise! You probably won’t have a lot of time!); Think about alternatives you might want to suggest (sometimes people support something less than perfect because it’s the only thing being suggested!); Bringing handouts that will help support your message; Partnering up with others who can go with you; Sharing something personal about your own experience.

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Doesn't Everyone Have a Right to An Advocate?:

Many simply do not understand the devastating impact that the Murphy Bill would have on the Disability Law Centers and associated PAIMI (Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness) programs. Virginia Knowlton Marcus, Executive Director of Maryland's Disability Law Center describes some of the impact below:

"The significant reduction in funding for P&As for the PAIMI program (including the PAIMI Councils) would essentially gut the program. It is an 85% cut. For our program, this means there would not be enough funding remaining for a full time attorney. It leaves us enough to pay our intake worker to tell people we are no longer able to help them - and people very often have nowhere else to go. To begin to explain the impact, P&As are the only advocate empowered with reasonable access to facilities like state psychiatric facilities to investigate instances of abuse and neglect. We monitor them to learn what is going on inside. H.R. 3717's restrictions would prohibit us from engaging in systemic advocacy and lobbying. So let's say our lone very part time attorney was unbelievably lucky to discover abusive conditions during their now very rare monitoring visits, they would not be equipped to address them. For example, they could not go to the legislature and lobby on a reform measure - even with other money! The bill prohibits these programs from lobbying even with other funds we can raise for ourselves. Silencing the advocates is incredibly dangerous for people. We discover terrible things when people know we are looking - I don't want to imagine what would occur if we were no longer able to look."

Those of us who have been hospitalized or who have visited people in hospitals know that rights are violated on a regular basis. In Massachusetts, just think about the last time you were hospitalized or visited someone in the hospital and saw these rights violated:

1. Right to Cell Phones (Click for details)
2. Five Fundamental Rights(Click for details)

These are just two basic examples of how rights get violated on a daily basis with advocates present. There are many more examples. So, what happens when the advocates go away?

Everyone should be able to expect that their rights will be respected. Everyone deserves an advocate.

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The Definition of 'Crazy'

Many people will joke that the true definition of 'crazy' is doing something the same way over and over and expecting different results.

The Murphy Bill appears to be proposing to do just that: Push many of the same treatments that are already most prevalent, but with a much heavier hand.

It ignores that people in the mental health system are already dying, on average, 25 years younger than the general population. It ignores all the evidence that says there is no real link between violence and psychiatric diagnosis. It ignores the growing body of research that is demonstrating physical damage and poor outcomes of psychiatric medication as a long-term, blanket treatment. It also ignores the growing body of research that is demonstrating the efficacy of CHOICE, ALTERNATIVES and PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT.

We can all likely agree that:

There are not enough supports and resources available
People are falling through the cracks
Friends and family are often being left without the support and resources they need

But how do we come together in a way that expands supports without discrimination and force? That is forward moving and learns from all our very real successes both as individuals and as a movement? This is the conversation we need to be having.

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share

Other things you can do to get involved include (but are not limited to!):
* Share this bulletin with friends, on Facebook, on Twitter, etc.!
* Write a letter to the editor of your local paper (especially when a pro-Murphy bill piece has been published!). You can find some tips on writing letters to the editor HERE.
* Join a local advocacy group. Check on Facebook for groups dedicated to the Murphy Bill, or visit websites like www.mindfreedom.org or www.nchmr.org.

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Resources

Murphy Bill Basics

Read the bill HERE.

See Murphy introducing the bill HERE.

On Arguments Against the Murphy Bill

Read the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery's Press Release on the Murphy Bill HERE.

Read the National Disability Alliance's Letter HERE.

Read a series of blogs posted to Mad in America below:
* We Are the People by Oryx Cohen
* Murphy Bill Violates Civil Rights, Increases Government Intrusion and Control, and Ignores Scientific Research by Gina Nikkel
* The Power of Words: What the Wall Street Journal Didn’t Tell You by Scott Bryant-Comstock
* The Great Turning by Iden Campbell McCollum
* Defeating Goliath: Mental Health is a Social Justice Issue, and People with Lived Experience and Their Allies are Rising Up by Leah Harris

On Outpatient Forced Commitment

Read the RLC's FAQ sheet on OFC HERE.

View Harvey Rosenthal's presentation on OFC HERE.

Read the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery's citations HERE.

On the Lack of Connection Between Violence and Psychiatric Diagnosis

View the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery's list of citations and abstracts HERE.

On Poor Outcomes/Dangers of Long-Term Medication

View an article on the role of long-term anti-depressants in inducing chronic depression HERE.

View an article on the use of anti-psychotics and brain shrinkage HERE.

View the results of research on the apparent negative impact of use of medications on individuals diagnosed as 'psychotic' HERE.

On Positive Impacts of Peer-to-Peer Support

View a list of citations and abstracts compiled by the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery HERE.

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For a quick, three-page summary of many of these points that you can share with others, CLICK HERE.

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