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[Recovery in Consumers' Words]

…the first position I held, as a new MSW graduate, was working as a therapist to help mental health service consumers make the transition from in-patient care in State hospitals back into the community.

This aftercare group included consumers that had spent over a decade in the hospital. I asked them what they needed to make their transition successful. They didn't say they needed a psychiatrist. They didn't say they needed a psychologist. They didn't even say they needed a social worker. They didn't say they needed a comprehensive service delivery system or evidenced-based practices. They said they need a job, a home and meaningful personal relationships or to use a direct quote: "I need a life-a real life. I need a job, a home and a date on the weekends."

People seeking or in recovery from mental illness need most to feel connected. They want a life, a real life with all of its rewards. This is the very essence of the recommendations contained in the final report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.

[Beyond Benefits]

In the words of our President, "Political leaders, health care professionals, and all Americans must understand and send this message: mental disability is not a scandal--it is an illness. And like physical illness, it is treatable, especially when the treatment comes early.…"

One of the largest Federal programs that support people with mental illnesses is not even a health services program. The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) programs paid approximately $27 billion in disability payments in 2002 to beneficiaries with mental impairments (excluding mental retardation). Persons with mental illness represent the fast growing group of persons determined to be disabled by SSA. At the same time employment is an essential tool for persons with mental illnesses to fully participate in their communities. The majority of adults with serious mental illness want to work and many can work with help. However, many seek disability status to get health coverage and to do so they must either end or limit their employment. As a result, many consumers with serious mental illness continue to rely on Federal assistance payments in order to have health care coverage, even when they have a strong desire to be employed.

[Consumers Who Fall Between the Cracks]

When the President announced the Commission and defined the scope of responsibility, he spoke frankly about the poor quality of mental health care in this country in terms of its fragmented delivery system. He talked about the many points of contact we have with people with mental illnesses-all too often this being homeless shelters, criminal justice system or welfare system. He talked about missed opportunities to diagnose and treat individuals suffering from mental disorders. And, he also acknowledged the difficulty of achieving a diagnosis and providing the state of the art care we know can be delivered.

President Bush drew upon the all too often common example of a 14-year old boy who suffered from severe depression and began experimenting with drugs to self-medicate and alleviate his symptoms. You are all well too familiar with the shameful scenario of the honor student turned drug addict. This young man, like many Americans of all ages, slipped through the cracks….

[Need to Transform the System]

…In short, President Bush asked the Commission to give the mental health system a physical and they did. The diagnosis is "fragmentation and disarray." The Commission report found the nation's mental health care system to be well beyond simple repair. It recommends a wholesale transformation that involves consumers and providers, policymakers at all levels of government, and both the public and private sectors….

…The report also challenges us to close the 15-20 year lag time it takes for new research findings to become part of day-to-day services for people with mental illnesses. Waiting for the research to make its journey down an already clogged pipeline equates to generations lost in the process. Too many Americans are already under-served and many more are done a disservice when their quality of life remains poor while they wait for the latest research to crawl into their communities…

[Need for a System Based on Recovery]

…Most of all, the report reminds us that mental illness is a treatable illness and that recovery is the expectation. As a compassionate nation, we cannot afford to lose the opportunity to offer hope to those people fighting for their lives to obtain and sustain recovery.

The new state agendas must be consumer- and family-driven, not bureaucratically bogged-down. Consumers of mental health services and their family members must stand at the center of the system of care. Consumer and family needs must drive the care and services that are provided….The goal is to make recovery a reality for everyone.