Mental Health Caucus Informs Congressional Staff of "Mental Health First Aid" after Tucson Tragedy

(Washington D.C.)- Today, Congressional Mental Health Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Grace F. Napolitano and Rep. Tim Murphy held a briefing for congressional staff on what resources were available to them if they believed a constituent to be mentally ill. Agent Megan Bolosi from the Capitol Police, Dr. Dan Dodgen from the Department of Health and Human Services, William Hudock from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, President of Mental Health America David Shern, and author and advocate Pete Earley all emphasized the importance of not further stigmatizing the mentally ill, who are not more likely to be violent than the general population, while informing staff of what their options are if they ever do feel threatened.

“Mental health is a critical issue, and it isn’t going away,” Napolitano said. “Hopefully you will be able to use the information here to improve safety and serve your constituents.”

“Through tragedy we can find opportunity to learn and change perceptions and come together to help those in need,” Murphy said.

Bolosi and Dodgen discussed “mental health first aid” and what to do if a person becomes threatening. All of the speakers emphasized that the already unjust biases against the mentally ill should not be increased any further.

“Less than 1% of the mentally ill are violent,” Earley said. “We can’t blame the person who has the mental illness. After all, we don’t make fun of people in wheelchairs, so why do we make fun of people with mental illnesses?”

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