Welcome Message from Mark Weber, Director, Office of Communications
Welcome to the new SAMHSA Dialogue Blog. The goal of the blog is to provide an environment for SAMHSA’s diverse constituency to engage and discuss SAMHSA’s Eight Strategic Initiatives. The Eight Strategic Initiatives are:
- Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness;
- Trauma and Justice;
- Military Families;
- Health Reform;
- Housing and Homelessness;
- Health Information Technology;
- Data, Outcomes and Quality; and
- Public Awareness and Support
Read more about SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiatives.
The SAMHSA Dialogue Blog is a place where up-to-date information including articles from SAMHSA staff, announcements of new programs, links to reports, grant opportunities, and ways to connect to other resources are located. Unlike traditional media, the SAMHSA blog will give you an opportunity to give real-time feedback and have your voice heard. The blog provides a venue to discuss what SAMHSA is up to, share ideas with others around the health care world and what you would like to see from SAMHSA. We look forward to your comments!
I have a few questions I have had for a long, long time. Perhaps you can answer them.
1) Do you think that a reason that many people who need assistance with mental health do not get assistance is because of insurance? If a person reports treatment for depression in a life insurance request, that person will likely be rated up.
2) Why do you think so much funding is spent trying to save the lives of people who want to die when there are so many people fighting to live; but are dying?
3) Is withholding treatment the same as committing suicide? Do you think there will be a day when life insurance companies will not pay if a person elects to withhold treatment?
@Suzi Gravenstuk: Here is some information that can address your questions. For information about health coverage, including health insurance please visit http://www.healthcare.gov. There you can find information about health care coverage in your area, including information on the new pre-existing condition insurance plan. For information about suicide prevention please visit http://www.samhsa.gov/prevention/suicide.aspx
Totally thrilled about your blog, new website and everything your agency is doing!!
Glad you are communicating directly not in a long news letter
Thank yous………………….. in loving service… Stanford House
I see prevention of SA as one fo the Eight Strategic Initiatives, but where is supporting and fostering recovery?
What a great welcome message from Director. I see the video. I like this
I think these strategic initiatives are great ideas . My fiance did three tours to Iraq and I feel that the military should have an adjustment period and counseling on base paid so they can go through counseling. A person that has just served a year in combat can not just come home and go back to work normally. I had to drive my fiance around for about eight weeks mainly because he got migraine from scanning license plates he could remember the last 50plates he was sent home two weeks after the tour was over. How can tell children that have not seen their dad in a year “no you can’t sleep with him or surprise him in the morning” This what congress need to focus on to foster recovery. The VA needs to reach all to all veterans regardless of income.Some veterans make a comfortable living but can’t afford counseling or the times of counseling is during work hours
Thanks Mark and the SAMHSA Communications Office for opening up the dialogue in so many new and creative ways. It enhances the partnership potential with grantees and others out there doing this work across the country. I will definitely check in regularly.
Great idea and thanks for providing so many opportunities for everyone to express themselves and be involved. I have one serious concern, in that I feel strongly that recovery must be accessible to all.
Having closed captions is only a first “baby” step towards accessibility to Deaf people with mental health diagnoses. This could have been made far more accessible to Deaf people by having an ASL interpreted version. I am not Deaf myself, but I worked with Deaf people who are diagnosed with mental illnesses and I believe most of them would have wanted the option of opening a window with professional American Sign Language simultaneous interpretation.
I hope to see more commitment by SAMHSA to making everything you produce accessible to linguistic minorities, including Latino/a and and other communities. As we increase in diversity as a nation, cultural competence becomes more and more critical! Thank you.
please send information pertaining indiviual eligiability of grant for small business
I agree with Rachel Klein…any information in printed English should be provided in “alternative format”, i.e., translated into the primary language of the consumer/client/patient. For deaf citizens, American Sign Language (ASL) has no written format; ergo, digital video streaming format provides the needed access to any web-based public information. The website deafmd.org with minimal funding is making a tiny “baby step” to provide health information to America’s Deaf population. SAMHSA and other federal agencies need to follow suit by including ASL “alternative format” for of all their website information to ensure minimally adequate access to deaf citizens for whom ASL is their primary language.
Thank you for post this video of Mark Webber. Dialog like these will get the public to interact more.