Wednesday, January 24th several members of the UF Psychiatry faculty and residents gathered at the Florida State Capital in Tallahassee to meet with law makers and urge them to pass legislation that benefits behavioral health for NAMI’s 2018 Behavioral Health Day.
The mission of the 2018 Behavioral Health Day at the Capitol is to educate and empower peers and family members to become effective advocates for better behavioral health funding and policies in Florida. Attendees see first-hand how state government works, learn how to communicate with lawmakers, and meet with policymakers who influence behavioral health laws and funding.
The program opened with a welcome and “State of the State on Mental Health” by NAMI Florida Past President and UF Department of Psychiatry Professor, Rajiv Tandon, MD. Dr. Tandon advocated that stigma toward mental illness is discrimination of the very organ that makes us human, the brain. Residents then met with legislators to help advocate for behavioral health policies.
For more information on Behavioral Health Day and some of the legislation discussed, please visit the Florida Politics website for their coverage of the day.