MENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS DAY IS OBSERVED

Like people with physical handicaps or illnesses, people who have mental illness are looking for opportunities.

On Wednesday advocates of improved mental health care and putting an end to discrimination against people with mental illnesses gathered in Jefferson City for the third annual Mental Illness Awareness.

Roger Henry, executive director of the Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau and an administrative agent for the Department of Mental Health's Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services, said, "Awareness Day gives advocates an opportunity to meet with their legislators on issues concerning availability and quality of mental health services, housing and employment opportunities and insurance coverage.

"It also is an opportunity to meet with other advocates from around the state to share experiences and exchange ideas."

About 40 local people attended the event, said Denise Essner, director psychosocial rehabilitation of the Community Counseling Center.

"It's a mixture of people," Essner said. "We have a group from the Manic Depressive-Depressive organization, members from our psychosocial rehab program that we call the Club House who are people with mental illness, staff and some parents and family members."

Essner said people with mental illnesses believe a lot of education is needed about mental health. "They feel the stigma is great," she said. "They feel discrimination in housing and employment."

Essner said advocates for those with mental illness are becoming more organized. "The mentally retarded and those with physical disabilities have a powerful lobby," she said. "Mental health is just in its infancy. But we have decided we can do some of the same things those groups do."

Foremost among issues for many of the advocates is the impact of state budget cuts on mental health care.

"We are also working to get people to look at mental illness as no different than physical illness. In the most serious cases, it is not," she said. "If insurance saw it as a physical problem, coverage could be much better."

She said local consumers are concerned also about Medicaid payments and the difficulty of finding a doctor.

Essner said many people with mental illness are afraid to try to hold down jobs. "When they start working, they lose their other benefits," she said.

She said talking with legislators might not make a big difference, but it's definitely a start.

"I'm sure most legislators don't even know what people with mental illness look like. Through this awareness day, legislators meet face to face with them. I think that is the best way to reach legislators."

She said attending the rally is also good for people with mental illnesses. "It's good for them to know they have the power to have some influence over what happens to them," Essner said.