Alliance Alert: Yesterday marked the Binghamton kick off of the annual series of regional forums that our Alliance for Rights and Recovery holds each year to inform and encourage mental health advocates from across New York to advocate for this year’s budget and legislative priorities and, most notably, to attend this year’s Annual Albany Legislative Day on March 4th, to begin at 9:30 am at the Hart Auditorium. Our Vice President for Public Policy will be sending out more details tomorrow morning including the priorities, featured speakers and details around our Capital Rally for a 7.8% rate hike for community agencies and their workforce and a morning news conference advocating for rejection of coercive proposals and, alternatively an expansion in voluntary services that successfully engage disconnected individuals.
Alliance for Rights and Recovery Hosts Forum, Prepares for Legislative Day 2025
By Brian Melanson WBNG January 29, 2025
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WBNG) — The Alliance for Rights and Recovery hosted its Southern Tier Regional Forum to discuss new services, programming needs, and other suggestions the mental health community has.
The event also provided a space for attendees to sign up for Legislative Day 2025. This annual event allows constituents to meet with lawmakers in Albany to voice their opinions on a variety of topics.
Among the concerns that the AFRR plans to raise at Legislative Day is a reduction of involuntary commitments. An involuntary commitment is a legal process that allows a person to be hospitalized or treated against their will, usually for mental illness.
“I think our number one message this year is going to be we’re against coercion,” said the Alliance for Rights and Recovery CEO, Harvey Rosenthal. “We’re for a full range of alternatives, and we’re for services that are engaging, effective, well-coordinated, and accountable.”
The Alliance is also taking a strong stance in advocating for more housing.
“As we all know, we’re in a housing crisis nationwide… There’s not enough housing for people who have low to no income,” said Brandan Campbell, Regional Coordinator for AFRR.
The AFRR expects that there will be around 600 people in attendance at Legislative Day on Mar. 4.
https://www.wbng.com/2025/01/29/alliance-rights-recovery-hosts-forum-prepares-legislative-day-2025
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Mental Health Advocates Prepare to Meet Legislators in Albany for Legislative Day 2025
By Daniel Robinson January 29th 2025
Mental health advocates from the Catholic Charities of the Southern Tier and the Alliance for Rights and Recovery are getting ready to go to Albany to make their voices heard on March 4th for Legislative Day 2025.
The conference is held annually by the Association for Community Living, with local advocates starting their preparations today at the Broome County Public Library today with a public forum.
Brandan Campbell, Board Member for the Southern Tier Regional Coordinator and the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, hopes the event will serve as a way for local advocates to get their voice heard.
“Programs get cut back, initiatives get lost, funding dries up and then we are forgotten again. So the importance of going to Albany is to remind them, we’re still here, we’re still voters,” Campbell said.
They’re hoping to take around 500 participants to Albany.
If you’d like to participate, you can contact your Southern Tier Regional Representative or the Catholic Charities of Broome County for information on how to get on one of the buses headed to the Capital in March.
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Join Local Mental Health Advocates On Legislative Day
Roy Santa Croce WIVT/WBGH January 29, 2025
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Leaders in the local mental health community hosted a public forum to hear feedback and to rally people together for a trip to Albany.
The Alliance for Rights and Recovery held its Southern Tier Regional Forum at the Broome County Library today. The forum is a chance for people to share their experiences with mental health services and call on lawmakers to make change.
People were signing up to be a part of Legislative Day on March 4, when the Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier and Catholic Charities of Broome County take a bus to Albany to advocate for better services.
Brandan Campbell with Catholic Charities, says some of the things they’ll be advocating for is to address the housing crisis, increase the pay for service providers, and normalize going to a therapist instead of the hospital.
“Sometimes yes, people do need the help of hospitals and medical professionals, but just to throw people into a hospital when really they might just need to go to a therapist. Or they might just need someone to talk to them that day and they’re not a danger to themselves or others. So, a big push is against the involuntary commitment,” said Campbell.
In the past, over 500 people have taken the trip to Albany to be a part of Legislative Day.
Campbell says anyone interested in signing up and attending should call Catholic Charities or the Mental Health Association.
https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/join-local-mental-health-advocates-on-legislative-day