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On Tuesday, April 15, 2003, the New York Association for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) held its 5th Annual Legislative Day in Albany. Over 700 spirited mental health advocates from across New York State, with six buses from New York City alone, joined together to demonstrate support for a grassroots advocacy agenda that NYAPRS culled from 10 regional forums throughout New York State last fall. This year's legislative agenda included such issues as:

the restoration of Community Reinvestment this year
a comprehensive package of community housing and adult home reform " rejection of an Executive proposal to deny SSI recipients a 2004 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
passage of Timothy's Law (Mental Health Insurance Parity)
passage of electroshock informed choice and oversight legislation
adult home reform legislation
preservation of open access to medications for Medicaid recipients
alternatives to the use of inhumane solitary confinement for inmates with psychiatric disabilities

Participants convened in the Egg's Hart Auditorium to listen to a presentation on NYAPRS' 2003-04 Advocacy Agenda, which included a particularly inspiring presentation on mental health parity, recently renamed Timothy's Law for a boy who committed suicide at the age of 12. Timothy's father, Tom O'Clair, related his family's struggle to access critical mental health treatment, which was severely limited in their private insurance policy, and how they ultimately had to relinquish custody of their son to get him the treatment he needed. The presence of the O'Clair family demonstrated their extraordinary courage, honesty, humility and fervent dedication to seeing that Timothy's tragic loss would find some meaning in the passage of mental health parity legislation.

The Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Mental Health Committees, Thomas Libous and Peter Rivera, also joined NYAPRS to voice their joint support of Community Reinvestment and Timothy's Law.

Following the morning presentation the NYAPRS community moved to the Capitol steps for a rally celebrating the 10th anniversary of Community Reinvestment, and calling for the restoration of Reinvestment Legislation this year. The original sponsors of Community Reinvestment, Senator Nicholas Spano and Assemblyman Steven Sanders, and the current sponsors of new Reinvestment legislation, Senator Libous and Assemblyman Rivera, joined NYAPRS on the Capitol steps to offer their words of support.

Throughout the afternoon, participants had the opportunity to break down into smaller groups to meet with individual members of the State Assembly and Senate. Many found this to be a particularly satisfying and empowering aspect of the day, as it was a chance to meet face-to-face with some of the individuals that represent our interests in Albany.

NYAPRS' 5th Annual Legislative Day was another resounding success, bringing together an extraordinary sense of unity, focus, passion and presence to the growing power of NYAPRS' members and to the broader mental health and disability advocacy community in New York State.