Get Involved With Mental Health Politics
The “Top 5 Ways To Be A Mental Health Advocate” series here at Mental Health Notes comes to an end today, and so far you’ve read about stopping mental health stigma, getting involved with mental health advocacy and research organizations as well as mental health support groups, and ways to educate yourself and others about mental health.
To wrap up, let’s muse on mental health politics, i.e. mental health legislation that deals with issues like postpartum depression, substance and alcohol abuse, and of course - MENTAL HEALTH PARITY!
Number Five: Become a mental health advocate when you get involved with mental health politics and make your voice heard.
You don’t have to be a political person to get involved with politics that affect mental health legislation. Actually, you don’t even have to leave your house.
Thanks to organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), and the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), you can keep informed and get involved with mental health politics right from your computer.
To get started, check out these mental health legislative action centers:
- NAMI: Take Action
- DBSA: Advocacy in Action
- NMHA: Advocacy Network
Thanks to these groups - and the Internet - it’s possible and easy for us to sign petitions and send emails to our representatives regarding mental health legislation.
It’s never been easier to make our voices heard!
Later today, I’ll round up each of the posts in the “Top 5 Ways To Be A Mental Health Advocate” series. In the meantime, tell me what kind of mental health legislation you’ve been involved with lately.
- Are you subscribed to any newsletters or RSS feeds that keep you up to date with mental health legislation? Which ones?
- Which piece of mental health legislation is currently most important to you, and why?
Image: SXC
Tags: Depression, depression and bipolar support alliance, dual diagnosis, Mental Health Advocacy, mental health advocacy organization, mental health education, mental health legislation, mental health politics, mental health research organization, mental health support groups, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Mental Health Association, Postpartum Depression, stop stigma, substance abuse, ways to be a mental health advocatePOSTED IN: Government & Politics, Resources
3 opinions for Get Involved With Mental Health Politics
Miranda
Sep 12, 2008 at 8:47 am
Thanks for this post, Alicia! It really does help me (and others, I think) see how they can get involved. This is good advice on process that can be modified and then applied to other causes as well.
Kate McLaughlin
Sep 12, 2008 at 10:30 am
One more thing, Alicia… I’d like to follow you on Twitter, if you have an account. here’s mine: http://twitter.com/katemclaughlin
Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes
Sep 13, 2008 at 5:51 pm
@ Miranda - No problem, and thanks for stopping by!
@ Kate - I think I’m the last person on the Internet to still not have Twitter! I need to look into that, haha.
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