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Advocacy > Be An Advocate
Internet Resources for Mental Health Advocacy
The Internet has many resources to help you learn about mental health issues and how to make your voice heard about these issues.
The links below are listed to give you a small sampling of what is available. Each of these sites has links to other sites, and these
have links to yet other sites.
Although we have found these sites useful, we do not endorse them nor can we guarantee the accuracy of their materials.
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
http://www.bazelon.org
The Bazelon Center is a nonprofit, legal advocacy organization. This site includes information on advocacy and anti-discrimination
tools, action alerts and information on managed care.
Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies
http://www.cvmha.org/
The Coalition is the umbrella advocacy organization of New York City's mental health
community, representing over 100 non-profit community based mental health agencies.
Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS)
http://www.mhanys.org
MHA of Westchester is one of more than 30 affiliates of MHANYS. The state site includes information on
initiatives/programs, publications and events. The site also provides many helpful links to other mental health web sites
with brief descriptions of these sites.
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
http://www.nami.org
NAMI is a respected grass roots family movement that began over 20 years ago. It does effective self-help
and advocacy for people with mental illnesses.
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill - New York State (NAMI - NYS)
http://naminys.org/
NAMI- NYS is a grassroots organization comprised of families and friends of individuals
with mental illness. They provide support to families and friends of individuals with
mental illness through more than 50 affiliates, and educate the public about mental illness
through literature, speaking engagements, videos, workshops and conferences. Search
their site for news, where to get help, advocacy issues, publications and for information
on your local affiliate in New York state.
National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
NIMH is an agency of the United States government that performs research on mental
illnesses. This site provides information for the public, practitioners and researchers
alike.
National Mental Health Association (NMHA)
http://www.nmha.org
MHA of Westchester is one of more than 340 affiliates of NMHA. The national MHA site includes information,
discussion boards and alerts regarding advocacy, education, research and service for mental health.
National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse
http://www.mhselfhelp.org
The National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse is a consumer-run national
technical assistance center serving the mental health consumer movement by helping to connect
individuals to self-help and advocacy resources and offering expertise to self-help groups and
other peer-run services for mental health consumers. The Clearinghouse is supported by the
Community Support Program (CSP) of the federal Center for Mental Health Services, a
component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the
Department of Health and Human Services.
National Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN)
http://www.mentalhealth.org
This site provides information about mental health for users of mental health services and their families, policymakers,
providers, the media and the public. KEN is maintained by the Center for Mental Health Services, created in 1992 as a
component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA), US Department of Health and Human Services
National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness
http://www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov
This site was created under a contract with the Center for Mental Health (CMHS), Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health. It contains referral lists, fact sheets and
publications on homelessness, housing and mental health.
New York State Lobbying
http://www.nylobby.state.ny.us/citizensguide.html
This site is maintained by the New York State Temporary Commission on Regulation of Lobbying. The site describes
how a bill becomes law and allows the visitor to search for legislation by keyword or bill number and to identify and
contact the appropriate State legislator. There is also a guide to communicating with state legislators.
New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH)
http://www.omh.state.ny.us/
This site describes the Office of Mental Health, its initiatives and resources. It also has links to other sites related to mental health.
Office of the Surgeon General
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/index.html
Explore the site of the Surgeon General of the United States for information on all health
issues including reports on mental health and related subjects.
Partnership for Prescription Assistance
https://www.pparx.org
Through this site, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a coalition of national
organizations including the National Mental Health Association, offers a single point of
access to more than 275 public and private patient assistance programs, including more
than 150 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. To contact the Partnership by
phone, you can call toll-free, 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669).
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/
Go to this site and find out the progress of the President's Commission on Mental Health
whose mission is to conduct a comprehensive study of the United States mental health
service delivery system, including both the private and public sector providers and advise
the President on methods of improving the system. Participate in the Commission's
study by responding to their call for "Public Comment." The site gives information about
how this can be done by e-mail as well as U. S. mail and in person during the public
comment period at every meeting of the Commission. Help them identify the problems
and find solutions.
U. S. Congress on the Internet - THOMAS
http://thomas.loc.gov
This site is maintained by the Library of Congress and allows visitors to search for information about U.S. legislation
based on bill number or on key words or phrases.
Westchester County Board of Legislators
http://www.watpa.org/wcbol/
This site provides information on how to contact Westchester legislators, biographies of each legislator and a calendar of Board meeting dates.
Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH)
http://www.westchestergov.com/mentalhealth/
This is the Westchester County department that deals with most mental health issues. This site provides information about
its services and the location of its service centers.
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