Working toward stronger initiatives for mental illness and better service delivery has been a priority for me as most of you already know—I’ve not been shy about sharing stories about my son Wally who receives care for schizophrenia.
On Thursday June 22, I joined administrators and community leaders in a progressive roundtable discussion exploring the issue of “Mental Health Services in Montgomery County: Strengthening Programs for Diverse Immigrant Communities.” Hosted by (NAMI MC), thirty individuals, including Iris Reeves, Coordinator for Multicultural Issues, MD State Mental Hygiene Administration; Dr. Raymond Crowel, Chief, Montgomery County Adult Behavioral Health Program; Betty Lam, Chief of Community Affairs, Montgomery County Health & Human Services; and Daniel Karoma, African & Caribbean Liaison, Montgomery County Office of Cultural Affairs, were in attendance.
One of the questions central to our discussion was “What are the primary barriers in accessing and delivering mental health services to culturally diverse immigrant communities?” Some of the identified barriers were: language, deep stigma of mental illness in certain cultures, a lack of knowledge in identifying mental illness and/or not knowing where to find resources to gain help. The providers also identified a great need for better and more easily accessed case management as opposed to the thought that greater emphasis being placed on early intervention. The next meeting for the group will be on Thursday, September 23, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
NAMI Montgomery County (NAMI MC) is the Montgomery County, Maryland affiliate of National Alliance on Mental Illness which is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. NAMI MC is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults living with mental illnesses in Montgomery County, MD. For more information visit: http://www.namimc.org/aboutus.asp.
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