Reported by DJ Jaffe - one of the key contributors in getting this Center
off the ground (Congratulations to DJ, E. Fuller Torrey all others involved
in this! As someone who watched a loved one suffer for 10 long years before
we could get treatment, I fully realize that as a last resort involuntary
treatment must be an option - too many people are going untreated today
because of the inability to get care - Brian)
-----------------------------------------------
NAMI Approves plan to use Judicial means to help get access to care.

I am pleased to report that at its meeting this past weekend (in
mid-October), the NAMI board of directors approved starting a Judicial
Action Center (JAC, renamed: NAMI Treatment Advocacy Center).

Many have long felt that NAMI is limiting itself, by failing to use the
judicial process to improve access to care.  The board of directors
purported to share these feelings but failed to act on them.

Now, thanks almost 100% to Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, the board has now decided
to proceed. Dr. Torrey took the proposal/concept, went and got funding for
it on his own, formed an organizational committee, and brought a re-worked
(and renamed) proposal back to the board which then voted to approve it.

Gerald Tarutis and Carla Jacobs, joined Laurie Flynn in getting the board to
finally approve this, and all three of them will be on its board.  Annie
Saylor also worked hard as part of the organizing committee to make it a
reality.

It will be a separate 501C3 non-profit organization.  Joining Carla, Gerald
and Laurie on the board will be NAMI Board Member Fred Frese, and NAMI
Counsel, Ron Honburg.  Other members of the board of the NAMI Treatment
Advocacy Center will be Dr. Fuller Torrey, Donna Orrin (Consumer Social
Worker, PR Person), yours truly (DJ Jaffe), and a player to be named later.

The purpose of the Center will be to identify legal barriers to treatment
and work to overcome them.

Next steps

It will take several months to file the corporate papers, identify a person
to lead this effort, and get them staffed and housed in offices.  So nothing
will happen real soon.  The organizing board will meet and work to keep you
up to date.  It is anticipated that the center will be a resource to state
organizations, working to eliminate barriers to treatment for people who
are most disabled by Sz, bipolar, and other NBDS.

Caveats
The center will not handle individual cases.  That has to be stated at the
outset.  So please don't expect that or call for that.  That would take much
more resources than we have.  The center will develop a methodology to
identify barriers, and a plan to remove them.  Again: it will take a while
to get it going.

Finally, I encourage all of you to write Dr. Torrey, c/o NAMI and thank him
for the tremendous, time consuming, effort he put into making this effort to
create a more aggressive, assertive, legal savvy NAMI!!!

My own thanks go to him, Gerald Tarutis, Carla Jacobs, Laurie Flynn, Annie
Saylor, for doing what I failed to do: get the board to start using the
legal system to expand access to care!  Thanks also to the other board
members who voted to approve this.

Following is the official News release announcing this organization:
________________________________________________________
NAMI E-NEWS                                      November 5, 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      CONTACT:  Mary Rappaport
        (703) 312-7886
Legal Advocacy Project
Established to End Barriers to Care for Millions
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NAMI Treatment Action Center Seeks to Reverse Policies That Restrict
Treatment for Those with Most Severe Brain Disorders

Arlington, VA -  The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
today announced the establishment of a first-of-a-kind center that
will push for timely and effective treatment for the estimated 2.2
million individuals with severe psychiatric disorders who don't get
care when they most need it.  The NAMI Treatment Advocacy Center will
support education, research, legal, and legislative efforts to promote
treatment for individuals with the most serious brain disorders, such
as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

 In announcing the Center, NAMI Executive Director Laurie Flynn noted
 that current policies and practices hamper treatment for people who
 are most at risk for homelessness, arrest, or suicide.  "It's a
 national disgrace that, in this age of remarkable progress in brain
 research and treatment, so many individuals are left out in the
 cold," said Flynn.  "If NAMI doesn't stand up for those who are the
 most ill and most vulnerable, who will?"

The principle activities of the NAMI Treatment Action Center will
include the following: . educating policy-makers and judges about the
true nature of severe mental illnesses, available treatments for those
illnesses, and the necessity of court-ordered treatment in some cases;
researching factors that affect the ability of persons with severe
mental illnesses to make informed decisions about their treatment; .
working within states to promote laws that enable individuals with the
most severe brain disorders to receive treatment; and promoting
innovative approaches to diverting people who have the most severe
brain disorders away from the criminal justice system and into
appropriate treatment.

 The NAMI Treatment Advocacy Center is being established as a
 supporting organization of NAMI, with its own executive director and
 board of directors.   Initial funding for the Center is being
 provided by the Stanley Foundation, which has contributed generously
 to research on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.  A search for an
 executive director for the Center is currently underway.