The National Alliance on Mental Illness in Maine, NAMI, has come out witha list of recommendations to reform the state’s mental health system. They include establishing assessment centers, mental health liaisons in law enforcement agencies and reducing deaths by suicide.
It’s called the Mental Health System Reform Project, and it identifies key benchmarks NAMI says Maine needs to have a dynamic mental health system. Jenna Mehnert of NAMI says she hopes political candidates will use the report as a guide for policy.
“That’s the purpose of this report to say, ‘Hey, regardless of party, regardless of perspective, we collectively have agreed that these are key issues,’” she says.
Along with better coordinated care and a reduction in adverse events, the recommendations seek to increase access to housing and employment.
“It’s not about reinventing the wheel, it’s about realigning the spokes. So how much of this is new money, versus how much of this is switching money from places where we’re not really getting the outcomes that we want, to holding the system accountable to produce positive outcomes in people’s lives,” Mehert says.
The benchmarks and recommendations grew out of a survey of 700 people, as well as input from consumers, providers and law enforcement.
