Advocates Protest City Flip-Flop on Mental Health Clinic Hearing
Press conference on mental health crisis and cancelation of hearing, today, Monday, July 21, 2014, 10:15 a.m., at City Hall, 2nd Floor
Mental health consumers, policy experts, advocates, supporters will be in attendance
Frustrated mental health advocates will hold a press conference on Monday morning to protest the cancellation of a hearing on the city’s mental health clinics and renew demands for adequate staffing and outreach for the clinics.
Members of the Mental Health Movement obtained official notice of a hearing by the City Council Committee on Health and Environmental Protection in response to a Council resolution calling for a hearing on the six public mental health clinics. After recruiting experts and clients to testify the group learned that the Committee had removed the issue from the agenda at the request of the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Advocates have pressed for a hearing for over two years, in response to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to close six of the twelve mental health clinics. The Mental Health Movement fought hard to stop the closure of the clinics and points to the serious impact of those closures – a spike in hospitalizations, hundreds of former clients unaccounted for, a growing mental health problem in Cook County jail and many individuals who suffered serious consequences.
Mental Health Movement representatives will also discuss the most immediate threat to the viability of mental health clinics – the city’s failure to join any provider network, triggering the termination of services for current Medicaid patients as the state moves towards managed care. Presenters will also address the severe shortage of mental health services for Chicago’s most vulnerable, many of whom now have coverage through expanded Medicaid.
The group is demanding an increase in funding for the remaining six clinics, with a focus on improved outreach and adequate staffing. They are also calling for the Chicago Department of Public Health to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of mental health services in the city.
