Kentucky among states with highest levels of "psychological distress"

New study reveals regional patterns of substance abuse and mental illness:

On the mental health side of things, serious psychological distress also
appears regional. If you live west of the Rockies, you are probably in good shape. Except for small pockets in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, the West seems to be a pretty happy bunch, while the middle portion of the eastern U.S. seems to be struggling, with the largest populations in distress being in Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Click the link above to read the entire article.

Click here to read the Report on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Survey.

NAMIWalks Louisville Kickoff Luncheon is July 23rd!

When: July 23, 2008 at 12:30 p.m.

Where: The Metro United Way Community Room

334 East Broadway, Louisville

Why: To raise awareness, excitement and enthusiam for

the NAMIWalks Louisville event on Sept. 13, 2008

Who: You! Your family, your friends, your co-workers

What: Free food!

The Kickoff Luncheon is limited to the first 100 registrants, so please RSVP as soon as possible, and no later than July 15. Call Tony Baize or Tammy Haysley at (502) 245-5287.

For more info about NAMIWalks Louisville, click here:

http://www.nami.org/namiwalks/KY/Louisville

We hope to see you at the Kickoff Luncheon and the Walk!

Toy to retire from Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board

From the Herald-Leader:

Joseph Toy, president and CEO of the Bluegrass Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, is retiring.

In an e-mail Toy sent Friday to staff at the Communities at Oakwood and Eastern State Hospital, he said he would continue working for two to four months to allow the board time to appoint a successor.

In addition to running Eastern State in Lexington and Oakwood in Somerset, Bluegrass provides community mental-health services and other social services.

Toy's retirement comes as Bluegrass is under pressure to fix problems at Oakwood, a historically troubled institution, so the facility can regain funding from Medicaid.

All but $18 million of Oakwood's $78 million annual budget normally comes from Medicaid. Until the facility is found in compliance by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the state is paying for the full cost of running the institution.

(Image courtesy Somerset Commonwealth Journal)

From the NAMI Convention again

So, I'm sitting in the Internet suite, because once again, the session I wanted to attend was placed in one of the smaller salons, and it is overflowing into the hallway.

If there's a criticism of what has been otherwise an excellent convention, it's this: the logistics people failed to realize which topics were going to be really big draws.

On Saturday, I really wanted to attend the workshop on fundraising, but it, too, overflowed. Fortunately, NAMI Louisville's Board President Bob McFadden shoehorned a seat. Today, it's the session on the "VA at War" that has drawn an overflow crowd.

Meanwhile, larger salons are not filled while focusing on more specialized topics.

I suppose I'll find a comment card or send an e-mail.

I guess it should be said that this is my personal opinion only. It may not (and probably does not) represent the thoughts or feelings of NAMI Louisville, its board, or the attendees at the convention under the NAMI Louisville banner.

Blogging from the NAMI National Convention

Overwhelming schedules and overwhelming crowds. This is by far the biggest special interest convention I have ever attended.

During NAMI's town hall meeting this morning, the Obama campaign sent a senior staffer. The McCain campaign sent no one.

I think the crowd took that as a hint.

WaPo: Soldiers with PTSD kept near firing ranges

According to the Washington Post, soldiers at Fort Benning and other bases diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and placed in the "Warriors in Transition" unit were kept too close to firing ranges, aggravating their disorders.

Lifespring loses mental health grant

From the News and Tribune:

About 360 people that receive substance-abuse and mental-health treatment as a diversion to a jail sentence annually through the Jeffersonville-based Turning Point Center may have to look elsewhere for help this year.

The organization — which provides inpatient treatment to residents in six counties, including Clark and Floyd — lost a $500,000 grant funded through the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addiction earlier this year.

Podcast: Obama's Homes for Heroes Act

Last year, Senator Obama introduced a bill that would strive to reduce homelessness among U.S. Military veterans. Persons with mental illness tend to be overrepresented in that population.


Listen to Obama talk about it here:


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