R.I. State House rally: Mental health system needs more support

March 30--PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Without a significant reinvestment in Rhode Island's behavioral health system -- a system that has gone from 1990s national leader to something greatly inferior today -- more people will continue to suffer unnecessarily, and the eventual financial and social costs of incarceration, homelessness and other undesirable situations will continue to rise.

This message of the detrimental effect of millions of dollars in cuts in recent years was not new -- but many of the state's leading advocates, experts, legislators and consumers brought fresh urgency to it Tuesday during a rally at the State House that drew several dozen people and the support of three legislators who pledged to fight during budget deliberations.

"We know what we need. We need more money. I'll be on the floor every day doing what I can," said state Rep. David A. Bennett, D-Warwick, a psychiatric nurse and member of the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee and the Joint Committee on Healthcare Oversight.

"We deserve a moral government," said state Rep. J. Aaron Regunberg, D-Providence. And that, he said, means a government that takes care of its vulnerable citizens.

"Let your voice be heard," said Sen. Harold Metts, D-Providence. "If we stay active, we can turn this around. So keep the faith."

James McNulty, head of Mental Health Consumer Advocates of Rhode Island and Oasis Wellness and Recovery Centers, spoke of the status quo: a system, he said, in "serious, serious trouble."

"We have been struggling for 10 years or so with continuing cuts," said Benedict F. Lessing, Jr., president and CEO of Woonsocket'sCommunity Care Alliance.

James M. Lehane III, president and CEO of Newport County Community Mental Health Center, and the father of a child who lives with mental illness, mentioned the state's new -- and controversial -- slogan, "cooler & warmer."

"For us," Lehane said, "it's 'harder and harder.'" He warned of looming inability to meet his center's payroll, although he said he was hopeful that could be averted.

Several speakers noted that while financial resources are inadequate, Rhode Island does not lack the professional expertise to successfully treat mental illness and substance abuse. Despite the financial limitations, the state's community mental health centers have been a cornerstone for many people living with serious mental illness who are now leading fulfilling lives, they said.

"After many years of struggling with schizophrenia, I have learned to live successfully with my illness," said Charles Feldman, of Oasis and the Mental Health Recovery Coalition of RI, sponsor of the rally.

"I was diagnosed in my senior year of college. After six years of ineffective treatment, I started going to a community mental health center, where I was started on proper medications and started attending support groups, which have been the anchors of my recovery. My main activity now is peer support ... I want to spread the message that we can live in recovery with a mental illness without suffering and lead meaningful lives."

Repeating a saying she learned in law school, State Mental Health Advocate Megan N. Clingham urged the General Assembly and governor to "restore, resuscitate and reinvest" in the community system.

Rebecca Boss, deputy director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH), spoke of several recent grants BHDDH has received that will benefit many individuals. "This day we stand with those who live with mental illness," Boss said.

In an email after the rally, Michael Raia, spokesman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, to which BHDDH reports, wrote: "We're implementing a number of initiatives that better integrate behavioral and physical healthcare for Rhode Islanders who live with serious and persistent mental illness and other behavioral health issues. Throughout the process we've worked with -- and will continue to work with -- advocates, providers and stakeholders to achieve these goals."

gwmiller@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7380

On Twitter: @GWayneMiller

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