NUHW was a proud co-sponsor this month of the 2023 Mental Health Matters Day in Sacramento.
The one-day event, organized by Mental Health America of California, brings together advocates for improving mental health care and ending stigma.
This year’s keynote speaker was Anthony Brown, who discussed his journey through homelessness that began at age 14 and addiction to recovery and his work providing specialized treatment for people who deal with mental illness and substance use disorders.
NUHW members at the event informed participants about their rights under new parity laws, including NUHW-sponsored SB 221, which guarantees the right to timely follow-up therapy appointments. At the NUHW table, participants could also learn about our union’s new behavioral health associate membership program, in which independent providers can join NUHW and participate in our campaigns to improve access to mental health care, increase enforcement of mental health parity laws and grow the power of private sector therapists in relation to insurance companies.
“It was a great event and an excellent opportunity to build bridges with people in other mental health advocacy organizations,” said Shay Loftus, a psychologist at Kaiser and NUHW executive board member. “It was great to see how many people are working on mental health issues both locally and statewide, and how many people are interested in the work that we’ve done and in working with us going forward.”
