Call Your LOCAL Legislators Today

Contact Your Legislators and ask them to: 

--Express their opposition to the block grant and support for funding at the current year's level for mental health and substance abuse funding to the House and Senate Republican Appropriations Chairs and the House and Senate Majority Leaders.

--Express their opposition to the block grant and support for maintaining the current mental health and substance abuse funding levels in their respective caucus meetings on the budget.

Democratic Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Vincent Hughes (pictured right), announced yesterday in his budget overview that the Human Services Development Fund (HSDF) block grant "is still in flux, not a done deal" and there is support for increasing the amount of the 50 percent restoration of human services funding. Sen. Hughes stressed the urgency to contact your local legislators TODAY (and every day until we have a state budget passed).

We are down to the wire with budget negotiations. The republican leadership and the governor have agreed to spend the number of $27.65 billion, and the details are being worked out as you are reading this.

Thanks to the Better Choices for Pa. Coalition for hosting the call with Sen. Hughes and thanks to each of you for your ongoing budget advocacy efforts! 

Advocacy Postcard Campaign

Want to be part of NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania's ongoing budget advocacy campaign? We are providing postcards to be sent to members of General Assembly. The message is simple:

STOP the 20 percent funding cut to community mental health services.

STOP the block grant that puts community mental health dollars in jeopardy of being spent on other services.

STOP the elimination of General Assistance cash benefits and cuts to General Assistance Medicaid health care benefits.

If you would like to assist in this campaign, please email Sharon Miller at smiller@namiswpa.org with the number of postcards you would be able to use. The postcards are partially labeled, requiring only that you write in the name of your specific senator or representative and the address. Sharon can also provide this information for you.

BROKEN PROMISES: Dismantling the Community Mental Health System and Harmful General Assistance Cuts

Promise Made – Candidate Tom Corbett promised to help Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens, including individuals with mental illness and/or facing challenges of addiction.

Promise Broken – Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget is recommending the most significant change and cut to the community mental health system since its inception over 50 years ago.

Our Message: The cuts to Mental Health funding must be restored. The Human Services Development Fund block grant is wrong and should be stopped. Promises made to consumers and to communities must be kept.

Please see the attachment for a detailed list of the “Promises Made and Promises Broken.”  Utilize these points when contacting the leadership within the state House and Senate. Please always copy your respective state representative and senator.

Unsure who represents you in the state Senate and House? Click here. To Contact PA Senate Leadership, click here. To Contact PA House of Representatives Leadership, click here.

"There's No Place Like Home" Rally

NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania will join the Consumer Health Coalition at noon today for its State Budget Rally.

There's No Place Like Home

State Budget Rally

Friday, June 25

12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Roberto Clemente Memorial Park

Join the rally today to preserve funding for home- and community-based services.  Our Executive Director Chris Michaels will join others who will speak on having the:

• Wisdom to know this saves money.
• Heart to honor a person's desire to be at home.
• Courage to put people first.

For more information on mental health advocacy efforts, visit the NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania website.