Yesterday, the Alliance helped to support a day of advocacy in Washington that brought together over 150 members of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery and Faces and Voices of Recovery to host a Capitol news conference on behalf of millions across our nation who are actively engaged in or striving for recovery.
They were joined by Congress members Paul Tonko and Becca Balint to demand that Congress reject proposed cuts to Medicaid, federally supported housing including Section 8 vouchers, SNAP (food stamps) and protect, if not expand, funding for an array of peer support initiatives.
Both our groups are engaged in 2 days of advocacy with members of Congress to stress the importance of building on all of the historic progress we’ve all made in promoting recovery and rights and to reject efforts to return to past policies of institutionalization and involuntary treatment. Together, we are advocating for critical services and educating members on how the current proposed budget will harm their communities.
Among the high points of the day were remarks given by Alliance Vice President for Public Policy Luke Sikinyi that emphasized that
“Today, our Alliance joins our National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery and friends at Faces and Voices of Recovery, along with members of Congress in calling for the protection of Medicaid and other essential services for people with mental health and substance use challenges.
This is not just about preserving programs. It’s about rejecting a return to the past—a past where people were locked away instead of listened to, where forced treatment replaced real support, and where poverty was punished, not addressed.
We urge Congress to:
- Reject cuts to Medicaid.
- Invest in essential housing and homelessness assistance programs like Housing First
- Maintain full funding for peer-run services and consumer-led technical assistance.
- Pass the PEER Support Act to strengthen and expand the peer support workforce nationwide.
- Ensure peers are paid fair, equitable wages.
- increase block grant funding for community based mental health and substance use services
And most of all—we urge Congress to listen to the millions of people who rely on these services. To the communities that are lifted by them. And to the peer supporters and recovery advocates here today.”
See his remarks at https://tinyurl.com/u6enxff4.
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