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ICYMI: Congressmen, community converse about mental health care reform

December 18, 2014

Roy Gifford thought he would be this way for the rest of his life: weighed down by schizoaffective disorder, working his way down a long list of medications, all hope extinguished.

He grew up in foster care and institutions, only to graduate as an adult to assisted living facilities, jail and the streets. But, nearing 40, Gifford finally got help in Pasco County: counseling, medication compliance and an understanding of how to grow.

"I know it can be done. I am living proof," he said from his seat on a mental health panel hosted Tuesday by Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida's 12th Congressional District. "There is hope and recovery."

About 100 people attended the panel at Rasmussen College in Land O'Lakes, where Bilirakis and Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania discussed what they called a broken mental health system and fielded ideas from community panelists and audience members.

Murphy, a clinical psychologist, wrote a bipartisan bill, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, that would overhaul much of the federal government's approach to mental health.

"Oftentimes, we throw a little bit of funding in programs and we'll dust off our hands and walk away and say, 'Well, we did something,' " Murphy said. "It hasn't made a difference."

He rattled off a list of statistics to illustrate the nation's failure to support the mentally ill, citing high unemployment rates, a shortage of hospital beds, tens of thousands of suicides and overwhelming incarceration rates.

"How is it that we think severe mental illness is best treated in jail?" he asked. "We make it the most difficult for the people most vulnerable to get the care most necessary, and we make it in the most expensive way. ... And no wonder they don't get care."

Panelists highlighted helpful programs. Brian Anderson, a veteran advocate, said yoga can help veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, making up for sleep lost to nightmares.

Christopher Wittmann of Trinity Pain Center said putting a mental health counselor in the same clinic as pain patients created a continuum of care.

"I always see mental health (mentioned in the news) after there's been a shooting at a school or after there have been a series of suicides and we're going to put out the fires," he said. "I would really love to see mental health integrated early on so we can prevent the fires."

Saybra Chapman, supervisor of the employee assistance program for the Pasco County School District, said getting students timely care can be a challenge. Other panelists talked about the intersection of law enforcement, the court system and substance abuse programs in addressing mental illness.

The next step, Bilirakis said, is rallying co-sponsors of the act in Congress.

"If we get the funding and the focus in the right area, ... I think we can make a real difference," he said. "I don't just want a Band-Aid. I want a solution."

Audience members thanked the congressman, though some left disappointed that they didn't get to speak. Pat Scimone-Almasy, a former board member for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Pasco County, has lost two brothers to mental illness. She applauds the bill and hopes for continued discussion.

"It's wonderful that he's doing this to get as much information as possible," she said. "His heart is there. But when you have a limited amount of time, it's challenging to get the whole picture."

Contact Claire McNeill at cmcneill@tampabay.com or (813) 909-4613.

To read the article online, click here.