President Obama Announces National HIV/AIDS Community Discussions (posted 8/25)

President Obama has announced the launch of the National HIV/AIDS Community Discussions, a series of events to be held across the country. These events, hosted by the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) will offer the public a chance to provide input as the White House works to fulfill the President’s pledge to develop a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The first event, the Atlanta HIV/AIDS Community Discussion, will be held on August 25th at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference.  For more information click here .

Juvenile Prisons Becoming New Asylums (posted 8/15)

As states continue to reduce spending, many are cutting mental-health programs in communities and relying on the juvenile-justice system to care for a growing number of young offenders with psychiatric disorders, the New York Times reported Aug. 10.  Some two-thirds of juvenile inmates in the nation's youth prisons have at least one mental illness, according to researchers. Increasingly, inmates are on multiple medications, including powerful psychotropic drugs.  Critics say that young offenders would benefit more from therapy than from being sent to juvenile prisons where they could experience neglect, violence, and a possible decline in their mental health. Lawsuits and federal investigations in Indiana, Maryland, Ohio and Texas have found that juvenile-justice systems have failed to stop cruel and unusual treatment of inmates. For more information click here .  To read the New York Times article click here .

White House Launches Fatherhood Initiative (posted 8/15)

On their website, NPR (8/11) reported that the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership launched the national fatherhood tour, which will "go around the country holding town hall meetings to discuss the importance of fatherhood and speak with community organizations about what policies best work to build strong families." President Obama has appointed 27-year-old Pentecostal minister Joshua DuBois to lead the initiative, which "is not just targeting African-American families. 'This is about kids who are growing up without responsible role models in their families, and that is for all American families regardless of their background,' DuBois says." He also stated that he "encourages all Americans to get involved by letting his office know what programs in local communities are working to strengthen families."   To listen to the story on NPR click here .

Resource Guides on Supporting GLBTQI Individuals with Mental Illnesses (posted 8/14)

Two New Resource Guides on Supporting GLBTQI Individuals with Mental Illnesses

Developed by NAMI and the Upenn Collaborative on Community Integration

A Mental Health Recovery and Community Integration Guide for GLBTQI Individuals: What You Need to Know
This 12-page colorful booklet covers a range of key issues in mental health recovery and community integration, such as treatment and rehabilitation, financial support, housing, employment, and peer support, with specific information to address the unique needs of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Intersex individuals with a mental illness. This resource guide includes:
∗    Information and Helpful Services for Achieving Recovery and Community Integration
∗    Treatment and Rehabilitation Tips
∗    Suggestions for Accessing Services in Housing, Employment and Socialization and Peer Support
∗    Self-Help and Advocacy Information

GLBTQI Mental Health: Recommendations for Policies and Services
This companion guide provides important considerations for service providers and policy makers, including an assessment of the barriers faced by GLBTQI individuals seeking mental health care and recommendations for practical strategies to address these barriers, based on both a growing body of literature on the topic and the focus groups conducted by the authors. This resource guide includes:
∗    Barriers and Supports for Promoting Recovery and Community Integration
∗    Recommendations for Policy Makers and Providers
∗    Resources for Service Providers, Policy Makers and Advocates

These two NEW GLBTQI Recovery and Community Integration Resource Guides were developed by the UPenn Collaborative on Community Integration and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) with feedback and guidance from focus groups conducted by the authors with the Pink & Blues support group (Philadelphia) and the NAMI GLBT Leaders Group.

To access and download PDF versions of these guides visit the NAMI (www.nami.org/glbt ) and UPenn Collaborative (www.upennrrtc.org) websites. Hard copies may also be ordered through the bookstore on the NAMI website (http://www.nami.org/store ).   

Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation (posted 8/14)

The APA Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed journal literature on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) and concluded that efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm, contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates.  Even though the research and clinical literature demonstrate that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality, regardless of sexual orientation identity, the task force concluded that the population that undergoes SOCE tends to have strongly conservative religious views that lead them to seek to change their sexual orientation.  Thus, the appropriate application of affirmative therapeutic interventions for those who seek SOCE involves therapist acceptance, support, and understanding of clients and the facilitation of clients’ active coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, without imposing a specific sexual orientation identity outcome.  To download the report click here .

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