I love her even more now. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has released a detailed plan to deal with mental health. I am so happy to see a candidate doing this.
She said:
“The next generation must grow up knowing that mental health is a key component of overall health and there is no shame, stigma or barriers to seeking out care.”
She has released a fully detailed longer fact sheet of her plan on her website as well as a basic layout of her plan. She wants to completely combine mental health care and physical health.
She wants to start a national initiative to prevent suicide, and she wants to encourage early treatment. Most mental conditions start out around the age of 14. Early treatment can get the condition under control before it gets bad.
Police officers need to be trained in crisis intervention, so they will know what to do when they are called to help someone with a mental illness during an episode. We need to find treatment instead of sending these people to jail.
Clinton’s mental health agenda would create a national initiative around suicide prevention: pic.twitter.com/Ceuj5JwfDD
— National Journal (@nationaljournal) August 30, 2016
She wants mental health parity. The Mental Health Parity Act and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which Clinton sponsored, requires health insurance policies to cover mental health the same way that they cover physical health.
People with mental illnesses need access to housing and job opportunities. She would like to expand community-based housing for people who are struggling.
From the fact sheet:
“Hillary will launch a joint initiative among the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Health and Human Services, and Agriculture to create supportive housing opportunities for thousands of people with mental illnesses and disabilities, who currently reside in or are at risk of entering institutional settings.”
We need to keep researching to learn more about these debilitating conditions. There is still so much we need to learn about the brain and about human behavior.
Too many Americans living with mental illness have been left to face it on their own. https://t.co/KyCFVylvB8 pic.twitter.com/rayf9ADJKl
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 29, 2016
Here is a news clip about her plan:
Featured image via Twitter.
