It’s hard to stay optimistic that we can make an impact through advocacy these days, it seems all you hear is bad news about the economy, and that we shouldn’t expect any new funding. Additionally, now we are moving into the political season where it seems candidates are talking more about how bad the other candidate is vs. what the candidates hope to accomplish, and how they will help Ohioans in need. It’s also so hard to look at the devastation of alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services over the past several years. So how do we stay optimistic and on message that TREATMENT WORKS — PEOPLE RECOVER, and that the smart and RIGHT thing to do, IS adequately fund treatment and recovery support services for individuals with an addiction and/or mental illness? It’s going to be tough, but following is my mind set;

First:	I BELIEVE it IS the right thing to do.
Second:	I AM ANGRY that these services have been disproportionately cut, and I plan to focus this anger into activism.
Third:	I AM COMMITTED to fighting for adequate funding for behavioral health services, and to finding others to join me.
Lastly:	I WILL NOT GIVE UP until these services are funded!

I hope you will come back and learn over the next few weeks how you can join the fight to ensure that alcohol, drug addiction and mental health treatment and recovery support services stay accessible to those in need.

Have a great week!

Cheri L. Walter
Chief Executive Officer

How many people really know what behavioral health means? All too often people are confused and believe that this means that people with and addiction and/or mental illness are acting badly or misbehaving; they don’t understand that addiction and mental illness are diseases, just like cancer or diabetes. While cancer and diabetes are diseases of the body, mental illness and addiction are diseases of the brain, often caused by imbalances in brain chemistry, and can have a genetic component. These diseases often affect how individuals think and behave, disrupt their day-to-day lives, and in extreme instances individuals with a mental illness and/or addiction can harm themselves or others. While behavioral health may not be the best term as it implies that these are behaviors rather than diseases, for years this is how they have been identified. It is now our task to provide education about these illnesses and how they can be successfully treated.

So what is behavioral health care? It is the treatment of addiction and mental illness. Health care is the treatment of the body, and since the brain is an essential part of the body, we all need to recognize and educate others that BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE IS HEALTHCARE!

Cheri L. Walter
Chief Executive Officer

There was a very interesting article in the Sunday July 11^th New York Times concerning synthetic marijuana, which is a blend of herbs treated with chemicals that produce the affects of marijuana when smoked. The substance goes by K2, Spice, Demon or Genie. According to the article, many states including Ohio either have or are looking to ban the substance. Unfortunately, one of the sellers of the substance stated that once this drug was illegal he had something with which to replace it. All in all, this article once again points out that while the interdiction of drugs is important, until we deal with the reasons people feel they need drugs, individuals will come up with ways to alter their state of mind.

To see the article go to Synthetic Marijuana Spurs State Bans.

Have a great week!

We celebrate the 4^th of July to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On this day more than any other, we celebrate our Democracy. A form of government that thousands leave their homeland in order to come to the “land of the free and the home of the brave” so they can begin their American Dream. For those of us who are advocates in the behavioral health field, let’s help keep the Dream of independence alive for all. We need to step out and be brave — we must be the voice for those vulnerable Ohioans who cannot fight for themselves. We know that TREATMENT WORKS and PEOPLE RECOVER! Over the next 12 months we are going to have to raise our voices and fight to ensure that Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens have access to the necessary, life-saving alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services they need in order to live free from stigma and independent in their home communities.

Have a great Holiday!

Cheri

Cheri L. Walter
Chief Executive Officer