Coverage of the Unite for Change: Iowa rally on WOI-TV (ABC5 Des Moines).
Access the full video here.
An excerpt from an op-ed in the Des Moines Register written by Peggy Huppert.
Some of our presidential candidates have come forward with comprehensive policy statements, and they deserve credit for addressing this issue. But too often, mental health is an afterthought or a small part of a larger talking point during a debate. It’s not enough for our presidential candidates to occasionally mention mental health in a tweet. It’s time for candidates to make mental health and addiction a true policy priority and for us to hold them accountable for enacting these changes as policymakers.
Access the full op-ed here.
An excerpt from The Fix written by Victoria Kim.
The 2020 presidential election is just over a year away. Ahead of the much-anticipated event, the Mental Health for U.S. coalition posed 11 questions about mental health and substance use disorder to the presidential hopefuls. Not every candidate answered, including former Vice President Joe Biden, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld (a Republican) and President Donald Trump.
Access the full article here.
An excerpt from STAT written by Megan Thielking.
To bring down the rising suicide rate in the U.S., Cory Booker wants to appoint a federal coordinator tasked solely with suicide prevention. Amy Klobuchar wants to fund more local programs designed to prevent suicides among farmers and in tribal communities. Pete Buttigieg wants to add more mental health providers to the Department of Veterans Affairs and limit access to guns and other lethal means for people at high risk of suicide.
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An excerpt from WJLA written by Leandra Bernstein.
The organization [Advocates for Opioid Recovery] recently joined a coalition committed to making addiction and mental health treatment a prominent issue in the 2020 election. Mental Health for US aims to get presidential candidates and other office seekers on record endorsing affordable, easily accessible treatment, recovery and prevention programs for the millions of Americans that struggle with addiction.
Access the full story here.
An excerpt from WRVO Public Media written by their staff.
You’ve probably heard that there’s a presidential election coming up in 2020. Candidates are campaigning — calling out their opponents and sharing their platform — but do any of those platforms address the mental health concerns of our country?
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An excerpt from Medscape Medical News written by Alicia Ault.
Joe Pyle, president of coalition participant the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, said the hope is that by beginning advocacy early in the election cycle, the coalition will have the greatest impact.
“We’ve got good lead time to really ask every candidate what’s their view on prevention, intervention, and recovery,” Pyle told Medscape Medical News.
Access the full story here.
Watch Patrick J. Kennedy announce the launch of Mental Health for US on C-SPAN here.
An excerpt from STAT written by Megan Thielking.
The new nonpartisan group, called Mental Health for US, aims to push candidates in both parties to be more vocal about their policy ideas to improve mental health care — particularly as the 2020 election increasingly centers on health care issues like expanding Medicare or lowering the price of prescription drugs. It’s the product of a collaboration between some of the nation’s most prominent mental health groups, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Jed Foundation.
Access the full story here.
An excerpt from Becker’s Hospital Review written by Emily Rappleye.
Eight mental health organizations launched a nonpartisan group — Mental Health for US — to drive more conversations about mental healthcare policies in the 2020 election.
The coalition wants candidates to discuss policies for preventing mental health issues, for creating access to affordable treatment, and for expanding recovery services and treatments. It plans to seek and publish 2020 candidate positions on mental health policies later this year.
Access the full story here.
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