Sen. Roy McDonald will be honored for his work on behalf of mental health organizations at a banquet in May. ?
The Saratoga County Citizens Committee for Mental Health (SCCCMH) will present State Sen. Roy McDonald with the 2012 Citizen of the Year Award at their?Annual Dinner and Fundraiser on Thursday May 3, the organization said in a press release this week. ?Sen. McDonald is being recognized not only for his efforts to raise awareness about the needs of people living with mental illness, but also for sponsoring and supporting legislation to actually make a difference for people in our community,??SCCCMH Chairperson Peggy Lounsbury?said in the release.
Photo courtesy the Saratoga County Citizens Committee for Mental Health
Sen. McDonald has been a leader among his colleagues regarding mental illness and autism awareness, the release said. In his first year as chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, McDonald guided the autism insurance legislation through both chambers of the legislature and ultimately saw the governor sign the bill into law. The new law will guarantee insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism, the SCCCMH said.
McDonald is sponsoring several more bills to help people living with mental illness, including bills to provide a mental hygiene legal service to certain patients or residents of residential healthcare facilities; to increase the availability of professionals to perform evaluations regarding a defendant?s mental fitness to proceed to trial in a criminal proceeding; to provide for behavioral health wraparound demonstration projects which combine services through the NYS Office For People With Developmental Disabilities, the Office Of Mental Health, and the Department Of Health; to allow a nurse practitioner, acting within their lawful scope of practice, to admit a patient to an inpatient mental health unit on a voluntary or involuntary basis; and others.
In an effort to highlight groups and organizations providing services to individuals with disabilities and their families, Sen. McDonald was instrumental in organizing Disabilities Awareness Day at the Wilton Mall last December, the release said. According to the SCCCMH, McDonald also wants people to know that there are outlets to help them through difficult times and that suicide is preventable. To that end he is providing public service announcements about the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
He also recently organized a public hearing on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans to gain information on PTSD in order to improve early diagnoses, increase access to treatment, and provide crisis and support services, the release said.
The SCCCMH Annual Dinner and Fundraiser includes a buffet dinner, silent auction and raffles. The dinner will also honor recent grant and donation recipients Hammond House, Saratoga Bridges, Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Center, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Capital Region.
To donate an item for the silent auction or to register for the event call Collette Fox at?518-584-0792.
The Saratoga County Citizens Committee for Mental Health is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes grant money to agencies and programs in Saratoga County so they can enrich existing programs or expand services for people living with mental illness, the organization said. The SCCCMH also provides affordable educational opportunities for professionals and consumers, advocates for improved mental health care and services, and is committed to increasing public awareness.
For information about the SCCCMH visit www.scccmh-saratoga.org or call Peggy Lounsbury, chairperson, at 518-583-8371.
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