Mental Health Advocates Renew Push For Care
Lt. Governor Aiona officially opened a conference Friday in Hawai`i that brought together more than 200 mental health advocates to the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki.
The Lt. Governor speaks to mental health advocates.
Speaking at the 10th Western USA and Pacific Rim Regional Clubhouse Conference, the Lt. Governor voiced the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s ongoing support for improving services for those living with the effects of mental illness.
The Lt. Governor pointed to the Administration’s strengthened focus on reforms aimed at improving mental health care in Hawai‘i, which is now ranked 11th in the nation for mental health services.
The Lt. Governor said that the state is hoping to build on the success with the $10.9 million grant that Hawai‘i was awarded in October 2006 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to transform mental health services over a five-year period. Hawai‘i was one of only nine states that received that grant.
“This effort is not about finding excuses or scapegoats,” Lt. Governor Aiona said. “It is about providing the best mental health care possible for our residents. This grant is an important public health victory that reaffirms our Administration’s commitment to improving mental health care in Hawai‘i.”
On Wednesday, Lt. Governor Aiona led a working group meeting intended in part to move from the planning stage to the implementation stage of the Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant.
