Mental Health Advocate Frank Guinta Votes for Overhaul of Federal Treatment Programs

Press Release

Congressman Frank Guinta (NH-01), a co-sponsor of the legislation, voted today for the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. For the first time, the bill would evaluate federal mental health programs' effectiveness, eliminate many overlapping and outdated programs to focus resources, and increase congressional oversight of state grants.

The bill overcomes legal hurdles to patient care, allowing parents and caregivers to act as representatives to those in need of treatment, as well as ensuring those individuals maintain treatment regimens. "Federal mental health programs are a patchwork of antiquated programs across agencies. Jails have become de facto mental health facilities," said Rep. Guinta, Manchester's former mayor, who during his two terms made mental health and homelessness a focus of his administration.

"As a caregiver to a family member with a mental health issue, I know how difficult finding proper treatment can be," he said. "Also, the country is experiencing an epidemic of drug abuse, closely related to mental health disorders. It's time we recognize these problems for what they are: diseases creating a public health emergency."

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the death rate in the United States -- the number of deaths per 100,000 people -- rose for the first time in a decade, due to drug overdoses and suicide. Rep. Guinta is a frequent speaker at National Alliance on Mental Illness events, hosted a Mental Health Summit with New Hampshire experts in Concord, and founded the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, which includes over 80 members of Congress.

He led passage of 16 bills in the Opioid Abuse Reduction Act, scheduled for a vote this month, and praised today's result: "A House investigation revealed that 40 percent of Americans with serious mental illness are not receiving treatment. Untreated, their conditions can lead to violence, as we saw in Newtown, Tucson and Aurora," said the Congressman. "By removing legal and bureaucratic barriers, and directing federal dollars to the most effective programs, we can help families and doctors intervene in many cases to saves lives."

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act also creates a nationwide leadership position at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, expands mental health training for law enforcement officers, increases access to in-patient psychiatric services, and advances tele-psychiatry in rural areas.

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