NYAPRS Note: At next Tuesday’s NYAPRS Annual Albany Legislative Day, we are very pleased to honor 3 highly accomplished and dedicated heroes who have devoted their careers to support policies and services that promote recovery, rights and full community inclusion across New York and nationally. Clarence Sundram has been a lifelong advocate for people with disabilities across the nation, helping to creating the first independent oversight agency over a state’s mental health and developmental disabilities system–the New York State Commission on Quality of Care (CQC)–which he chaired for 20 years, serving as a Special Advisor on Vulnerable Persons to Governor Andrew Cuomo and currently serving as court monitor for the implementation of a Settlement Agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding adult home residents with psychiatric disabilities.
Debbie Pillsbury has been a devoted advocate for the rights of New Yorkers living with mental health conditions, with a lifetime of dedication to fighting for rights, choice, dignity and social justice and passionately against coercive practices while working for Syracuse NY-based groups like the Mental Patients Alliance in 1987 to AccessCNY until January 2020.
After 19 years of serving as New York’s most tireless advocate for the right of New Yorkers with psychiatric disabilities to a safe, secure and supportive place to live in our communities, Toni Lasicki is poised to retire from her longtime post as executive director of the Association for Community Living. Toni has helped launch numerous campaigns that have helped New York create the most extensive housing system in the nation and has succeeded in securing numerous housing rate increases as leader of the Bring It Home campaign.
Please join us at 11:00 am at the Hart Auditorium at the Egg at Albany’s Empire State Plaza for the award ceremony and see our attached Legislative Day book of budget and legislative priorities for 2020-21 and the day’s program schedule below.
NYAPRS 23rd Annual Legislative Day Program
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 Hart Auditorium at The Egg, Albany, NY
Program Schedule
9:30 am Breakfast, Check-In Hart Auditorium, The Egg
10:00 am Welcome: NYAPRS Co-Presidents Jeff McQueen and Peter Trout
Public Policy Committee Chair Carla Rabinowitz
10:05 am NYAPRS 2019-2010 State Public Policy Priorities
· “3 for 5”: Approve an Across the Board 3% Increase in Contracts and Rates for NYS Human Services Nonprofits for Each of the Next 5 Years
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Glenn Liebman, CEO, Mental Health Association of NYS
· Restore Possible Medicaid Cuts
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Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, NYAPRS
· Support Criminal Justice Reforms
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HALT the Torture of Solitary Confinement: Jerome Wright, Scott Paltrowitz, The Campaign For Alternatives To Isolated Confinement
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Bring Crisis Intervention Teams to More Localities: Wendy Burch, Matthew Shapiro, NAMI-NYS
· Bring It Home! Fund OMH Housing Rate Increases
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Doug Cooper, Associate Executive Director, Association for Community Living
· Extend Intensive Voluntary Outreach Initiatives; Oppose Expansion and Permanence of Kendra’s Law
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Harvey Rosenthal, CEO, NYAPRS
· Make New York a Trauma Informed State!; Mandate Training of Direct-Care Domestic Violence Workers
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Dan Press, Campaign for Trauma-informed Policy and Practice; Sean Brennan, Brainfood Gardens; Kira Labinger from the NYC Trauma-Informed Learning Community and Michael Berry, Institute for Community Living
· Protect NY’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program
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Doug Hovey, Independent Living; Bryan O’Malley, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State
11:05 am Featured Speakers
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Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, Chair, Assembly Mental Health Committee
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Senator David Carlucci: Chair, Senate Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee
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Senator Luis Sepulveda, Chair, NYS Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee (invited)
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Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, NYS Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore (invited)
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Dr. Ann Sullivan, Commissioner, NYS Office of Mental Health
11:20 am NYAPRS Annual Awards
Lifetime Achievement Awards: Debbie Pillsbury, Toni Lasicki
Public Policy Leadership Award: Clarence Sundram
11:40 am Role Play of Legislative Advocacy Meetings
12:00 pm Lunch
12:30 pm “3 for 5’ News Conference
12:30 pm Capital March for HALT Bill passage starting at the West Capitol Steps
1:30 pm MEET WITH STATE LEGISLATORS: SCHEDULE YOUR MEETINGS NOW!
4:00 pm Re-group at Buses, Return Home
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Contact Your Regional Bus Contact Today to Claim Your Seat on the Bus to Albany Next Tuesday!
Buffalo Daniel Neal 716-433-1086 dneal@communitymissions.org
Nassau County, LI Jeff McQueen 631-464-5773 jmcqueen@mhanc.org
Suffolk County, LI Tiffany Monti 631-741-8547 tmonti@fedoforg.org
North Country Brian Frederick 518-593-4390 bfrederick609@gmail.com
New York City Carla Rabinowitz 212-780-1400 x1102 crabinowitz@communityaccess.org
Rochester Veronica Weider 585-325-3145 vweider@mharochester.org
Rockland Joe Zwieg 845-708-2000 x2300 joe.zwieg@jawonio.org
Newburgh Doug Hovey 845-565-1162 dhovey@myindependentliving.org
Southern Tier Kim Taro 518-729-9054 kimt@nyaprs.org
Syracuse Sherina Hinds 315-708-7237 shinds134@gmail.com
Westchester Dillon Browne 914-610-0370 browned@mhawestchester.org