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SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
6:00PM
Le Fais Do-Do
Atlanta, GA
Honorary Chairs
Kevin & Margaret Hines
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| ADVOCACY UPDATE January 6, 2017 |
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Because there is no health without Mental Health!
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Mental Health America of Georgia - Legislative Update
Pre-Session: January 6th, 2017
The wait is officially over.
The 2017 Session of the Georgia General Assembly will begin on Monday, January 9th.
The General Assembly is in the process of finalizing committee assignments and the legislative agendas.
There is not any pre-filed legislation that is directly related to mental health, so there are no specific bills to provide an update on at this time.
This will change as the session begins, and this newsletter will serve as one of the best ways to stay up to date on legislation as it develops and changes.
Additionally, we will remind you of important dates and meetings.
Please remember that meeting times can change rapidly so you are advised to check the
House meeting calendar
and the
Senate meeting calendar
regularly if you are planning to attend a meeting.
Legislative Priorities
After careful review and collaboration with our partners, the legislative priorities for 2017 will focus on:
Workforce, Access to Care, and Community.
There are multiple opportunities to advance our agenda - not only with our own legislation and legislative asks, but also with those of our partners with whom we will be collaborating on important issues.
We are genuinely excited about the conversations going on around mental health policy, and believe the 2017 legislative session holds great promise for our constituency.
We are ready to get to work and take the lead.
More information on our 2017 legislative priorities is available
here
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Study Committee Roundup
The House Study Committee on Mental Illness Initiative, Reform, Public Health and Safety completed its work shortly before the holidays.
This week they published their study committee report.
The report prominently features two of our legislative priority items, the creation of the Georgia Children's Mental Health Reform Council and a loan forgiveness program for practitioners who commit to practicing in underserved areas.
These are important items on our legislative agenda and we are ready to work with our partners to make these and the other recommendations of the committee a reality.
The full committee report is available
here
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Mental Health Day at the Capitol
Mental Health Day at the Capitol will be January 31st
, 2017.
We encourage all of you to come out and show your support. If you would like more information about this event, or would like assistance scheduling meetings with your state representative and/or senator, please contact Joseph Cantrell.
You can follow all of these as well as future bills at
www.legis.ga.gov. This website also posts the schedule and agenda for committee meetings. If you plan to attend a committee meeting on a mental health/co-occurring substance use issue, please contact Joseph Cantrell (
joseph@mhageorgia.org).
Joseph Cantrell, Director of Advocacy and Policy Programming
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| TAKE A PROACTIVE STAND! What's the best way to make your voice heard? Have you been to the Capitol lately? Being there, seeing your legislator in action or speaking with them directly is the best way to advocate on behalf of our public mental health system. If you would like to learn more about how to set up your visit and what to do when you are there, please contact Joseph at 678-904-1965. He will be glad to walk you through the process. |
| We need your help to move our advocacy voice forward!
MHA of GA is a leader in the mental health advocacy community. You can learn more on our website,
www.mhageorgia.org.
Your donation will help ensure that MHA of GA continues to keep mental health awareness in front of Georgia's legislators. This is a critical time for our community, and now is the time to act!! Click here to support mental health advocacy in the state of Georgia. |
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