HOW NAMI-MINNESOTA's NEWS THAT PRE-TEENS AND TEENS SUFFERING FROM TRAUMA ARE NOT GETTING RESOURCES THEY NEED! (907 hits)
For Immediate Release From NAMI-Minnesota!
Youth Mental Health Facility Opens in East Bethel
A ceremonial ribbon cutting was held at the Nexus-East Bethel Family Healing psychiatric facility for youth, which opened its doors on November 29.The space offers supportive community housing for longer-term mental health services for children aged 10 to 19.
At the November 8 event, Nexus Family Healing CEO Dr. Michelle Murray said: “What we need to do now is take this building and do with it what it is intended to do. We need to serve the most critical youth and their families, and get them out of inpatient hospitals where there is a backlog. We need to get them out of the police stations. We need to get them out of the county hallways. We need to get them out of those areas that they’re stuck, where they’re not getting needs met, because other people need those services, too. We will take kids who are having complex issues and providing them the services they need and the hope that they need.”
She indicated that the residential services home is one part of a critical care continuum being built in Minnesota. “We will continue to work as partners to find innovative and creative ways to serve our youth and families that need very different specialized care in their communities, in their schools, and other places where they need deep, intensive focus.”
Murray continued, “We need more prevention. We need to offer supports to families when youth are returning home from care. We need more mental health services offered in schools. We need more wraparound services. This is not a placement, it is an intervention. … We have to think of things that we haven’t thought of yet. Addressing the growing mental health crisis in our state, in this country, is going to require strong partnerships, government communities, providers, educators — all of us working together to fill the gaps. We are a huge network of influential people who have expertise, knowledge, and hearts in the work that we’re doing.”
Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan spoke as the mother of a 10-year-old. “I am constantly doing my best and constantly winging it,” she said. “Anybody else? We can be honest, right? When families walk in this door, my hope is that people who are shouldering so much can take a full breath. That folks can feel relief and comfort, that they have partners in restoring hope and reshaping futures. The Governor and I, our commissioner [of human services], our legislature, have made it a priority to invest in mental health — coming into the light, out of the shadows, to talk about this real crisis. We hope that what we have done so far has truly meant a down payment on what else needs to be done.”
She noted that Minnesota has had to send too many of its youth to other states for the mental health care they need. “A month, two months being on a waiting list in the life of a child is very, very long.”
Metro Transit to start new fare enforcement program Monday The agency is also expected to approve a new rider code of conduct.
As frustration mounts over conditions on Metro Transit buses and trains, the Twin Cities agency is warning fare evaders that they risk fines as it implements a new fare-checking program, beginning Monday on light-rail lines.
As part of the Transit Rider Investment Program (TRIP), nonpolice community service officers will ask riders on-board to show proof that they paid for their ride. Scofflaws will be issued noncriminal citations.
The citations will be handed out on both trains and buses, but enforcement will begin on the Blue and Green light-rail lines.
Before the Legislature approved TRIP this year, police could issue only misdemeanor citations to fare evaders, agency spokesman Drew Kerr wrote in a November post on Metro Transit's website.
Such citations have been rare in recent years, Metro Transit data shows. While more than 1,300 were issued in 2019, that number dropped to 573 in 2020, 10 in 2021 and 49 in 2022.
Few of those citations issued by Metro Transit Police were paid — only 2.6%, a 2020 Metropolitan Council audit found. When they were paid, the money went to court, not to Metro Transit.
Kerr wrote that using community service officers instead of police to inspect fares will allow police to focus on serious issues.
The new citations, which must be paid within 90 days, begin at $35 for a first violation. Penalties escalate up to $100 and a 120-day prohibition for four or more violations. These administrative citations will not appear on criminal background reports, according to Metro Transit.
Riders who can't prove they paid the fare or provide identification will be asked to leave the train; if they refuse, police will be called and violators will be cited for trespassing.
First-time fare evaders can reduce fines by buying fares to be used later or by watching a video about transit expectations, according to Metro Transit.
Community service officers will be trained how to respond to mental health issues, de-escalation, first aid, naloxone administration and CPR, the agency said.
The intersection of identities is both a source of pride and challenges experienced by many Americans today, and for 61 million people, that includes living with a disability. For those living with a condition that is apparent and/or necessitates some form of an accommodation to be safe and comfortable navigating in society, their disability may be their primary identity as it is the one that is most often marginalized and often requires the most effort to manage with others.
The term "disability" is defined by the federal government in various ways, depending on the context. For the purposes of federal disability nondiscrimination laws (such as the Americans with Disabilities Act), the definition of a person with a disability is typically defined as someone who “has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.” Some of the broad categories of disabilities include:
Physical or mobility-related disabilities Cognitive, developmental or intellectual disabilities Sensory disabilities (blindness or deafness)
Despite the historic passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, people with disabilities often continue to face discrimination and unequal access in employment, housing, medical care and insurance coverage.
Compounding the issue of discrimination, many people with disabilities experience physical challenges including immobility or extreme pain, and social challenges such as isolation or being excluded from invitations to social events and recreational activities that are extended to people who do not live with a disability.
Managing these types of obstacles can take a toll on a person’s mental health. Having a disability, whether it has been a part of their identity from a young age, or developed/diagnosed later in life, is a risk factor for many mental health conditions. The additional factors of loneliness, abuse from caregivers and challenges achieving a satisfactory quality of life due to lack of access to proper care can increase the risk of mental illness.
Barriers To Mental Health Care People with disabilities often encounter challenges when seeking out effective and accessible mental health care, whether it’s in-person or virtual communication barriers making it difficult to interact with a mental health professional or the lack of reliable transportation for a person with a mobility-related disability.
This is in addition to dehumanizing stigmas where people can be treated as “less than” because of their disability. This is called ableism, which is characterized by the practices and dominant attitudes in society that devalue and limit the potential of those with disabilities. This may include practices and beliefs that assign inferior value to people who have developmental, emotional, physical or psychiatric disabilities.
It is common for people with disabilities to encounter mental health practitioners who share with their patients a belief that people with disabilities need to be “fixed,” cannot function as full members of society or that having a disability is a “defect” rather than a dimension of difference. This stigma may result in being told that mental health symptoms are to be expected given the persons’ circumstances, and in some cases, being dismissed as unlikely to benefit from therapeutic interventions.
Stigma can also result in misperceptions that those with disabilities are not proactive about seeking care to make their conditions better. However, considering the many barriers people with disabilities face, this perception fails to take into account the significant hurdles they must first overcome.
Lack of Integrated Care For many people living with disabilities, physical care is seen as the first priority — but when a disability impacts a person’s quality of life, it can have a direct effect on all aspects of their well-being and daily experiences. Many people with disabilities experience traumatic stress due to the painful treatments received for their physical condition, as well as depression and anxiety from the isolation they experience. Physicians treat the physical issues, but often view any mental health symptoms as a by-product of the physical experience. Those mental health issues can often be overlooked or dismissed in order to focus on providing physical comfort or pain relief.
In the field of health and medicine there is often a disconnect in integration of care. Health care practices, particularly those in rural and other under-served communities, often do not have the capacity to work with providers from other specialties to coordinate care for patients. Even in comprehensive health clinics, it can be difficult to get teams to collaborate because their fields of expertise may not easily overlap, they are stretched too thin due to high ratios of providers to patients, and the lines of communication between providers may not be established to facilitate these important exchanges due to technology compatibility and insurance coverage issues.
Given this circumstance, individuals are encouraged to keep their own records and ask questions during visits. Acting as a self-advocate and/or advocating for a loved one is often the best way to ensure that physical health and mental health care providers are communicating important care information with each other.
Poverty and Unemployment
Access to care is a systemic barrier directly related to unequal access to employment and health insurance. Many people living with disability face employment discrimination and have difficulty accessing full-time employment. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, 19.1% of people with disabilities were employed. Those who are working are often only able to obtain part time and/or temporary work which does not usually include access to health care benefits.
People with disabilities are nearly three times as likely to live in poverty, and earn a median income one-third less than those who do not have a disability. Disability benefits from government agencies often do not provide enough funding to live independently with a disability or to live in assisted living facilities.
NAMI Minnesota recognizes North Homes Children and Family Services with Provider of the Year Award
North Homes Children and Family Services received the Provider of the Year Award at the National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota's annual conference on Nov. 4 in St. Paul.
North Homes has offices in Bemidji, Deer River, Grand Rapids and Duluth. The organization currently offers outpatient mental health programs, residential treatment, school-based mental health programs, case management, foster care, adoption services and safe harbor for youth who have experienced human trafficking and exploitation, a release said.
"While it is so important to provide this wide array of services, staff at North Homes care about the larger mental health system and are active in committees and task forces to continue to push for changes in our system to better meet the needs of children and youth," the release said. "North Homes Children and Family Services is driven by the belief that every child and family deserve compassionate care and support and they are committed to making a positive difference in the lives of those they serve."
The Provider of the Year Award recognizes an organization that provides mental health services that demonstrates excellence, respect and best practices, the release said. North Homes was recognized for its contributions to the children's mental health system.
Check out the NAMI Classes offered during December and sign up early! As December approaches, take a look at the classes offered by NAMI Minnesota. Go to our website to see all scheduled classes. https://ow.ly/HcOp50Qceah
