Advocates across the country are fighting against barriers to healthcare for people seeking mental health treatment. The IMD exclusion (explanation in the OP-ED) continues to eliminate the stability period that is necessary for many people with serious mental illness. Let’s continue to ask for reforms to the IMD exclusion rule; waivers are not enough.

Laurie Goldstein- ACMI Vice President

Congress must stop blocking mental health clinics from needed money

By Cheryl Roberts

New York Daily News

Jan 24, 2023 at 5:00 am

Newly elected Congressman Dan Goldman’s announcement about reintroducing the Michelle Alyssa Go Act is welcomed news. The Act, named after Michelle Go, the young woman pushed to her death in front of a subway train by Martial Simon, a homeless man with serious mental illness, would amend the decades old federal rule at the root of our broken mental health system.

The Institutions of Mental Disease or “IMD Rule” was enacted in 1965 as part of the Social Security Act and denies Medicaid to patients admitted to psycho-therapeutic facilities with more than 16 beds including hospitals, nursing homes and community or so-called congregate care facilities. By restricting federal Medicaid dollars to small residential institutions, Congress rightly figured that service providers would never achieve “scale,” making it impossible for IMD providers to break even, let alone make a responsible profit.

Instead, Congress hoped that by funding community services and eliminating large asylums, poor people with serious mental illness would be served elsewhere, and they have been — in prisons, jails and at the undertakers.

Michelle Go (left) and Martial Simon
Michelle Go (left) and Martial Simon

The need for more psychiatric beds whether in-patient or congregate care, is an uncomfortable fact that some would rather ignore, a luxury not possible for parents like Teresa and Dan Pasquini, sisters like Hilary de Vries, or members of Michelle Go’s family.

Like it or not, some people living with serious mental illness would do better having access to financially viable, reasonably sized congregate care residential facilities located close to family and loved ones. Yet for many people, this community-based option has been off the table for nearly 60 years because of the IMD Rule. Without this option and others, including in-patient hospitalization and residential facilities where residents are not completely at liberty to come and go, the much heralded “continuum of care” is not achievable, at least not for everyone.

There is no better proof of this reality and the need for a range of such facilities, than the fact that over the same time period, many of these options have been available to those who can afford private pay residential and in-patient facilities. This reality demonstrates that IMDs above 16 beds are not inherently bad, we just don’t want to pay for good ones, at least not for poor people. Instead, we have stood by and watched as our prisons and jails filled up with poor people living with mental illness, especially Black and Brown people, who landed in the criminal justice system after the mental health system failed them, their loved ones and the innocent victims and their families.

Ironically, in the end, the IMD fundamentally undercut the gold standard of our mental health care system: ensuring access to community-based mental health services as part of a broad continuum of care. By drawing a crude line in the sand at 16 beds for all IMDs, Congress over-simplified both the problem and the solution needed to address the very real concerns associated with the large, underfunded snake-pit mental health asylums of old.

As Goldman reintroduces legislation to amend the IMD Rule, rather than seeking a wholesale repeal of the rule, the amendments should be drawn with more precision. Otherwise, not only will complete repeal of the IMD be dead on arrival due to its high cost, it will also unnecessarily raise real concerns about the government’s ability to control very large scale asylums and prevent some of the abuses of the past.

Rather, instead of once again taking a crude, one size fits all approach to Medicaid funding for mental health treatment, Congress should create different bed limitations for different kinds of facilities. For example, members might find that 36-bed congregate care facilities would be both humane for clients and financially viable for service providers. Similarly, raising the legal bed capacity for in-patient psychiatric hospitals to 100 or 150 might enable New York City’s public Health + Hospitals to offer high quality, safe, therapeutic and humane options for New Yorkers in need of that level of care.

Not only would extending the continuum of care be the humane option for those living with serious mental illness and their families, but it would also improve public safety and save money by preventing people with serious mental illness from entering into the criminal justice system in the first place.

It’s time for Congress to get this one right. To be thoughtful but to delay no longer. Michelle Go and Martial Simon deserved better, so did their loved ones.

Roberts is a part-time City Court judge in Hudson, N.Y., where she presides over the Mental Health Court and is the executive director of the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice.

This report was released in Psych News Alert on Monday, January 23, 2023

When it comes to the risk of metabolic side effects, not all antipsychotics are equal, suggests a meta-analysis published in World Psychiatry. The analysis revealed that patients with schizophrenia who took chlorpromazine or clozapine for more than 13 weeks experienced the most weight gain on average compared with those taking placebo.

Angelika Burschinski, M.D., of the Technical University of Munich and colleagues compiled data from 137 clinical trials that compared outcomes of patients who had schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, or schizoaffective disorder and took antipsychotics or placebo for more than 13 weeks. The combined sample included 35,007 participants who had taken 31 different antipsychotics (both oral and injectable) that are available in the United States and/or Europe. The researchers compared the effects of these medications on body weight as well as fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.

The median age of the participants in the analysis was 39 years, and the median length of follow-up was 45 weeks. The researchers found that five antipsychotics contributed to significant average weight gain relative to placebo:

  • chlorpromazine (5.13 kg, or over 11.3 lbs)
  • clozapine (4.21 kg, or over 9.3 lbs)
  • zotepine (3.87 kg, or 8.5 lbs)
  • oral olanzapine (3.82 kg, or 8.4 lbs)
  • long-acting injectable olanzapine (3.60 kg, or 7.9 lbs)

Seven other antipsychotics, including risperidone and quetiapine, were associated with average weight gains of 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4.5 lbs) over the study period.

The medications associated with the highest weight gain in participants were also associated with greater changes in glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Olanzapine was associated with the greatest effects on glucose, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol; amisulpride (which led to an average weight gain of 1.43 kg, or over 3 lbs), was associated with the greatest effects on HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

“[M]etabolic side effects of antipsychotics are likely to contribute to the average 14.5 years reduced lifespan of individuals with schizophrenia. Furthermore, weight gain is associated with decreased quality of life and treatment nonadherence, the latter resulting in poor treatment outcome and psychotic relapses,” Burschinski and colleagues wrote. “As antipsychotic drugs are often taken for long periods of time, our results represent more valuable clinical information on these health consequences than previous analyses based on short-term studies, which on average only lasted 6 weeks.”

The first Tuesday of each month from 4-6 pm Arizona time, except for holiday weekends, ACMI will have a featured guest that will discuss a relevant Behavioral Health topic; after the speaker, we will have discussions with attendees on current issues with the Behavioral Health System.

“Autism in Adults: What does that look like, and what to do about it” by Dr. Christopher Smith

Dr. Christopher J. Smith is an experimental psychologist with expertise in diagnosing autism spectrum disorder and measuring associated traits. Dr. Smith oversees all diagnostic evaluations and assessments for our clients while also directing all internal and external research projects. Prior to joining us at SARRC, he worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he still maintains a faculty position. Originally drawn to study autism because of the complexity of the disorder, here at SARRC, Dr. Smith values the ability to work with clients across all age groups and engage in out-of-the-box research endeavors.

Topic: ACMI Stakeholder’s Meeting

Time: February 7th,, 2023 04:00 PM Arizona

Every month on the First Tuesday until December, 25th, 2023,

March 7th, 2023 04:00 PM

April 4th, 2023 04:00 PM

May 6th, 2023 04:00 PM

June 6th, 2023 04:00 PM

July 11th, 04:00 PM

August 1st, 04:00 PM

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As we celebrate these holidays, let’s resolve to help the less fortunate.  The article below, by Steve Twist and Seth Leibsohn, vividly describes the misery of homeless persons in our community.  The most tragic are those who suffer from Serious Mental Illness (a pathological brain disorder) and co-occurring addiction and homelessness, living in our streets and jails.  Approximately 30% of homeless persons and 30% of incarcerated persons are Seriously Mentally Ill.   

Some are so mentally ill they believe their internal voices and delusions are real and, hence, they are pathologically unable to participate in their own treatment.  Some seek relief with illicit substances, which exacerbates their illness and misery.  To help these Chronically Mentally Ill persons, we need (a) more group homes with staff inside the homes 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, (b) well-regulated and secure residential treatment facilities from which residents cannot leave without authorization, to allow enough time for their treatment to become effective and (c) more beds and more accountability for care at the Arizona State Hospital, including removing the 55-bed limit on persons who reside in Maricopa County.

These three steps would provide better clinical outcomes at less cost than we now spend on recycling these persons through our emergency rooms, hospitals, short-term treatment programs, the streets, and jails, as their mental and physical health deteriorates.

We at the Association for the Chronically Mentally Ill (“ACMI”) welcome the attention Mr. Twist and Mr. Leibsohn bring to the problems described in their article.  And we believe the three steps indicated above would be significantly helpful as to the persons who are homeless due to their Chronic Mental Illness.

Dick Dunseath, Board Secretary of the Association for the Chronically Mentally Ill, and father of an adult suffering with Chronic Mental Illness

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phoenix neglects homeless, ignores rampant crime in ‘the Zone’ (azcentral.com) published Nov 17th 2022

Phoenix neglects the homeless, ignores rampant crime in drug-riddled ‘Zone’

A homeless person, who was included in the annual Point-in-Time homeless street count, sleeps on the [edestrian bridge, Jan 25th, 2022, at Seventh and Lopp 202 in Phoenix (Mark Hemie/The Republic

Opinion: Nearly 1,000 homeless folks exist in disease, filth and crime. Phoenix is guilty of not only neglecting them but setting a policy to not enforce laws.

Steve Twist and Seth Leibsohn

Within an area of central Phoenix, bounded roughly between Seventh and 15th avenues and Jefferson and Harrison streets, there is an ongoing dystopia. Euphemistically and casually, it’s referred to as “the Zone.”

This past week, an unborn child, at 20-24 weeks of gestation, was found dead in the middle of the street – burned to death.

There, nearly a thousand of our fellow citizens exist in disease, filth and crime. They are “living” on the streets, in makeshift tents and under tattered tarps, amid scattered garbage, human waste, chronic illness, drug paraphernalia, fire and fear.

These are the unseen, forgotten and abandoned. They are the mentally ill, walking the streets, talking to the air, battling unseen demons. They are the drug and alcohol addicted, so desperate for another fix or drink they will do anything except seek treatment. They are routinely victims of both crime and neglect.

No decent society abandons its fellow citizens to live this way; Darfur or Beirut is not our human or scenic aspiration. Not only is Phoenix guilty of shocking neglect of these most needy among us, it seems to be the policy of the city not to use the tools at its disposal to intervene as a force for help and repair.

Drug crimes, assaults define life in ‘the Zone’

Nicky Stevens (left, with MAG) interviews a homeless person during Maricopa County's annual Point-in-Time count, Jan. 25, 2022, near Seventh Avenue and Roosevelt Street in Phoenix.
Nicky Stevens (left, with MAG) interviews a homeless person during Maricopa County’s Point-in-time count Jan 25, 2022, near Seventh Avenue and Roosevelt Street in Phoenix. Mark Henie/The Republic

Take the cases of crimes being committed against those in the Zone. Those living there are both routine and regular perpetrators and victims of serious crime. Not only are drug crimes the basis for regular escape and anesthesia, but sexual and aggravated assaults, robberies, arsons and thefts regularly define the contours of daily subsistence in the Zone.

In its 2020 report, Strategies to Address Homelessness, the city of Phoenix acknowledged, because of “Gaps,” “(t)he result is a fluctuating level of encampments along the streets, defecation in public – sometimes on private property, litter and debris, public drug use, lewd acts, theft and other property and violent crimes.”

It’s only become worse.

According to a recent complaint that area business operators filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, the city “refuses to enforce in and around the Zone quality-of-life ordinances prohibiting loitering, disturbing the peace, drunken and disorderly conduct, drug use, domestic violence, and obstructing streets, sidewalks, or other public grounds.”

So, the victims are abandoned.

People call for help thousands of times

Article 2 of our state constitution recognizes victims of crimes have the rights to “justice” and “to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity.” These constitutional rights are promises made by the people of Arizona to every victim of crime, rights that city officials from the mayor on down have sworn to uphold.

Yet they have become a mockery as city officials refuse to enforce the very laws that have been written to protect victims from harm.

A model for others? Tempe parking lot will become affordable apartments

In this limited area of a few city blocks, in just the first nine months of this year, people have called the police for help more than 2,800 times. On average, in just a few square blocks, more than 10 people need help from the police every day.

Enforcing our criminal laws when a homeless person commits a crime against another homeless person does not stigmatize homelessness: it respects the rule of law and the rights of the victim essential to natural order. It recognizes a humanity that inheres in certain populations too many of us would, evidently, rather ignore. And these prosecutions can result in services being mandated for the homeless perpetrator.

Actively police this area. Enforce the law

But Phoenix is so wrapped in the dogma that pushes the failed policy of “housing first” and appeasement rather than treatment that it leaves the victims with neither justice nor respect. It leaves the homeless abandoned to the vicious cycle of desperation and misery.

The city has been justifying its shameless inaction because of a misreading of a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case. But that case, Robert Martin v. City of Boise, noted, “Nor do we suggest that a jurisdiction with insufficient shelter can never criminalize the act of sleeping outside.

“Even where shelter is unavailable, an ordinance prohibiting sitting, lying, or sleeping outside at particular times or in particular locations might well be constitutionally permissible. So, too, might an ordinance barring the obstruction of public rights of way or the erection of certain structures.”

Start policing the Zone. Enforce the rule of law.

Start arresting those who break the law. Work with prosecutors and courts to screen for services and treatment. Start with a policy not of “housing first” but “protecting victims first.”

That is what a sane and civil community would do – before it spreads, and before more lives are brutalized and lost.

Steve Twist, a former chief assistant attorney general for Arizona, is the founder of the Arizona Voice for Crime Victims. Seth Leibsohn is a radio host at KKNT/960am and a senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, which advocates for limited government. Reach them at steventwist@gmail.com and SLeibsohn@salemphx.com.

Not all unsheltered populations require the same solution. Each population is unique. Project Haven for seniors is suited for the older population. The rate at which CASS was able to find permanent supportive housing (PSH) for the senior population during the pilot is impressive.

We need specialized solutions for people with serious mental illnesses, including supportive services. Without supportive services, most people will not be successful.

St. Vincent de Paul’s Washington Model is another smaller shelter in Phoenix that accommodates persons with pets and has onsite services.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phoenix leaders push for more shelters after 700+ unhoused people died in 2022

Phoenix leaders push for more shelters after 700+ unhoused people died in 2022 – Axios Phoenix posted 12/20/2022 by Jessica Boedm.

A rendering of The Haven after renovations. Courtesy of CASS

Homeless service providers in Phoenix are trying to quickly open new shelters across the Valley to address the growing number of people living on the streets.

Why it matters: Tuesday marks Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, which is recognized on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.

By the numbers: Homelessness in Maricopa County increased 22% over the past two years and more than 700 people experiencing homelessness have died this year. That’s up from about 550 last year.

Of note: Investigators reported an additional 450 deaths this year of people whose housing status could not be determined.

What’s happening: Government agencies and nonprofits are using federal pandemic-relief funds to provide new shelter options, especially for seniors and people with mental illnesses.

  • For years, the 600-bed Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) location was virtually the only option for emergency housing.
  • Now, local leaders are looking to create smaller facilities that address specific needs for different populations.

The latest: CASS is getting ready to renovate the old Phoenix Inn on Interstate 17 near Northern Avenue. When finished this summer, it will provide 170 beds for people 55 and older.

  • The Haven will have onsite medical care and other resources tailored to senior citizens.
  • CASS tested the model by renting out part of a hotel for seniors experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. Almost 70% of the people who stayed there got permanent housing, CEO Lisa Glow told us.
  • The group purchased the hotel outright with pandemic funding from the state housing department. The Phoenix City Council approved $4 million of their federal dollars for the renovation.

What she’s saying: “It’s a more dignified, safer space for [senior citizens] than having to navigate 600 beds,” Glow said.

Flashback: Earlier this year, St. Vincent de Paul opened a new 200-bed shelter in south Phoenix.

  • The Human Services Campus opened a 100-bed structure next to the CASS shelter and is prioritizing people with significant barriers to housing, including individuals discharged from hospitals.

What’s next: CASS is partnering with Copa Health to open a 54-bed transitional housing facility for people with a Severe Mental Illness in 2024 on the state hospital grounds.

  • Community Bridges, Inc., is looking to open a 100-bed behavioral health wellness center in Sunnyslope.

This will be a positive step for diversion and supportive services, but what is lacking is affordable appropriate housing for those with mental health conditions. In Arizona, the wait lists have grown, and even people lucky enough to get a voucher face difficulties getting a rental unit.

We need permanent supportive housing (PSH) to ensure stability and recovery.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Originally posted on December 15th, 2022 Congress Approves the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act – CSG Justice Center – CSG Justice Center

Once signed into law, the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act of 2022 will:

  • Strengthen support for mental health courts and crisis intervention teams;
  • Provide support for diversion programming and training for state and local prosecutors;
  • Strengthen support for co-responder teams;
  • Support the integration of 988 into the existing public safety system;
  • Amend allowable uses for grant funds to include suicide prevention in jails and information-sharing between mental health systems and jails/prisons;
  • Amend allowable uses to include case management services and supports; and
  • Clarify that crisis intervention teams can be placed in 911 call centers.

The first Tuesday of each month from 4-6 pm Arizona time except for holiday weekends, ACMI will have a featured guest that will discuss a relevant Behavioral Health topic, After the speaker, we will have discussions with attendees on current issues with the Behavioral Health System.

This month learn about ECT (Electric Convulsive Therapy) from Dr. Aaron Riley.

ECT is not what it used to be!

Dr. Aaron Riley is a psychiatrist in Mesa, AZ, and is affiliated with Valleywise Health. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and has been in practice 10 years. He also speaks multiple languages, including Spanish. He specializes in addiction and psychosomatic medicine and is experienced in depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, cognitive disorders, and behavioral neurology/neuropsychiatry. He is adept at using neuromodulation techniques like ECT and TMS.

Topic: ACMI Stakeholder’s Meeting

Time: January 3rd,, 2023 04:00 PM Arizona

        Every month on the First Tue, until Dec, 25th, 2023,

  • January 3rd, 2023 04:00 PM
  • February 7th, 2023 04:00 PM
  • March 7th, 2023 04:00 PM
  • April 4th, 2023 04:00 PM
  • May 6th, 2023 04:00 PM
  • June 6th, 2023 04:00 PM
  • July 11th, 04:00 PM
  • August 1st, 04:00 PM

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ACMI Giving Tuesday
#GivingTuesdaysACMI

Today is Giving Tuesday! Launched in 2012, Giving Tuesday is known as the global day of giving. Please join us in advocating for people with serious mental illness by showing your support. ACMI is Arizona’s most influential advocacy organization for people with serious mental illness. People like you have donated money to help ACMI reach our previous goals. Every dollar counts! Please consider what can you can contribute.

Today only, a generous donor is matching all gifts made, dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000!

Research shows that leaving a person with untreated psychosis can have long-lasting dangerous implications. Early and consistent treatment has been shown to produce the best long-term outcomes. Dr. Lisa Dixon of Columbia University medical center articulates the balance a psychiatrist must consider in determining the best treatment options.

Laurie Goldstein

This was originally published on October 29, 2019, and it is relevant today. Dr. Dixon Says Going Upstream Is Right but Not Without Risk – #CrisisTalk (crisisnow.com)

Dr. Dixon Says Going Upstream Is Right but Not Without Risk

Researchers, over decades, have found a robust association between the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and outcomes. When measuring the period between the onset of psychosis and treatment, they consistently find that the longer the duration, the worse the outcome overall. Peeling back the layers of first and new episode psychosis often leaves researchers with more questions, including whether antipsychotics are neuro-protective or -toxic, or both depending on the person, and what constitutes treatment. Lisa Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., a Professor of Psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center, says it becomes messy. “Treatment marks the end of the DUP, but what defines treatment? Would it include a person admitted to the emergency department who receives two-days worth of antipsychotics but no further treatment? It gets murky, making it essential to get into the details.” 

Dr. Dixon says while recent studies have used a broader definition of treatment, for the most part, the end of the DUP means the use of antipsychotic medication, and what remains a consistent finding is that the longer the period of untreated psychosis, the poorer the outcome over the short and long term. She’s careful to point out that correlation doesn’t mean causation but says there’s no need to invoke causation to justify intervening early and shortening a person’s length of psychosis. “Who wants people struggling with the pain, fear, anxiety, and terror of psychosis without support and treatment? In 99 out of 100 people, it’s safer, more ethical, and better for us to treat the person earlier.” Once psychosis has been around for a certain amount of time, researchers think it can’t be fully treated or undone. Dr. Dixon says that similar to a tumor that grows and grows: once metastasized, psychosis becomes harder to control. This indicates that there might be a critical period where, if intervention happens early enough, it could potentially alter the course of the disorder. She says people deserve early identification and effective treatment that is person-centered and recovery-oriented. 

Early detection is a general principle that’s being applied to many illnesses in medicine and psychiatry, and it stands to reason that for many, if not most, disorders that detecting early will provide some benefits. At the same time, there are many conditions where premature action can be harmful, and watchful waiting would have better. Dr. Dixon says psychosis and schizophrenia can have a traumatic impact on a person’s life, and the early and first episode programs have successfully helped to change the lens, giving hope that people can live with these disorders successfully and meaningfully. “It’s our duty to provide services that do so maximally, but we shouldn’t ignore the potential problems associated with it.” 

Dr. Dixon highlights that going upstream can have an adverse impact if not implemented thoughtfully. In the movement toward early intervention, there is great excitement in the mental health field around whether identification could happen early enough to prevent onset. The problem, says Dr. Dixon, is that the majority of people who exhibit attenuated psychotic symptoms that might precede the development of psychosis don’t go on to develop psychosis. “You can see how it gets complicated. Let’s say clinicians want to offer treatment that prevents psychosis to this group of people, and the treatment has toxicity or is problematic in some other way, and only 20-30% would have ever gone on to develop psychosis. It could interfere with outcomes, potentially causing problems for people who wouldn’t ever have developed psychosis.” 

Dr. Dixon says the objective is to precisely understand the young people who are at risk, not just depend on a phenotype, and offer treatment that could change the development of the disorder. All of which should happen in conjunction with communities, schools, professionals, and families. She says some people may be more vulnerable to developing psychosis, particularly if exposed to structural and psychosocial adversity. “There’s a lot of work to be done,” says Dr. Dixon, “but those in the field need to be careful not to do more harm than good because we don’t know, and don’t have great markers at this point, to predict psychosis.” One population-based approach she thinks is up to meeting this challenge is to focus on youth mental health, including young people who may be having a prodrome, a phase that precedes psychosis. She says perhaps they won’t go on to develop psychosis, but they may have other struggles that benefit from treatment. “As long as what the clinician is trying to provide maps what the person needs, as opposed to what they are at risk for, then you are contributing to the greater good.” She notes that many, if not most, of the mental health conditions that cause pain, suffering, and disability in the world start in the late teens and young adulthood, and not just psychosis, but also depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. “A population-based approach to help mental health and wellness that meets the needs of all of these young people could allow the needs of a larger group to be addressed.”

The challenge, says Dr. Dixon, is there is a fine line between identifying people who are vulnerable and stigmatizing. When talking about young people and early identification, there has to be an awareness that it can shape how they view themselves and what labels they carry as a result, both to themselves and others. What clinicians tell youths, says Dr. Dixon, must be delivered in a way that’s actionable along with adequate support to help them understand what it does and doesn’t mean. “When a clinician says to a 17-year-old, you’re at risk for having breast or ovarian cancer, that teen may begin to think of herself differently. We want to be sure that what we are telling young people about their potential risks is the correct message.” 

The first Tuesday of each month from 4-6 pm Arizona time except for holiday weekends.

We will have a featured guest that will discuss a relevant Behavioral Health topic, followed by discussions with attendees on current issues with the Behavioral Health System. This month learn about Arizona’s Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) and CBI

How are we helping people with SMI at CASS?

Dr. Vicki Phillips DSW, MSW, LSW, Chief Clinical and Development Officer

Dr. Vicki L. Phillips, Chief Clinical and Development Officer for Community Bridges, Inc. (CBI). Her career began as a front-line worker and has evolved into a key leader in the organization. Dr. Phillips leads a collection of rural crisis solutions and peer-response models and is highly experienced in working with diverse community stakeholders to build cohesive partnerships designed to meet the unique needs of each community. She is responsible for the oversight of clinical best practices, large grants, and resource development, and housing/shelter programs.

Lisa Glow, JD Chief Executive Officer

Lisa Glow, JD Chief Executive Officer for CASS. With more than two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, Ms. Glow is a graduate of the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. Early in her career, she practiced law with the international law firms of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and Steptoe & Johnson. Working for former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as a senior policy advisor and director of the Governor’s Office for Children, Youth, and Families, she was able to see firsthand the needs of our citizens. Ms. Glow recently ran a consulting firm providing resources and sustainability solutions to nonprofits.

Lisa Glow (CASS Chief Executive Officer ) and Dr. Vicki Phillips (Chief Clinical Officer) CBI will talk about the homeless with serious mental illness at CASS and interventions being done with unique programs.

They will discuss:

Whether the demographics of homelessness changed?

Whether they are seeing people with SMI at CASS, and what percentage (can be approximate )?

Have they frequently seen patients coming from an urgent psychiatric center or hospital (if known)

Do they see folks with apparent psychosis?

What is done to try and get them into services?

What type of services is available on site?

Topic: ACMI Stakeholder’s Meeting

Time: October 11th, 2022 04:00 PM Arizona

        Every month on the First Tue, until Dec, 25th, 2023,

      Nov 1, 2022 04:00 PM

        Dec 6, 2022 04:00 PM

        Jan 3, 2023 04:00 PM

Feb 7, 2023 04:00 PM

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZIudu6vqDspHdaOPI66YyVO1EYY3UYrWtCI/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGurTotHdKVsx6FRpwAA4j4KO3wpmJegqdcsy_MVXZqezXZZ8d7C-FKKcrn

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86317760372?pwd=MUJLZnl3cTFqSDRrbllmOUI0Sk82Zz09

Meeting ID: 863 1776 0372

Passcode: 795774

One tap mobile

+16699006833,,86317760372#,,,,*795774# US (San Jose)

+12532158782,,86317760372#,,,,*795774# US (Tacoma)

Dial by your location

        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

Meeting ID: 863 1776 0372

Passcode: 795774

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc1xiBw0Jl

ACMI QR