The Community Mental Health Association of Michigan (CMHA) held its 20th Walk a Mile in My Shoes Rally on Tuesday, September 17th. For the past 20 years, the rally has congregated advocates from across Michigan to the Michigan State Capitol building in Lansing to support public behavioral health care. The rally highlights the need for increased funding for mental health services, raises awareness of behavioral health needs in health and policy discussions, and reduces stigma about behavioral health.
“Our public relations committee formed this rally 20 years ago, saying we need a way to rally about the issues that face our system, to brag about our system, and to bring person-served clients to the capitol to not only get them politically involved, but to let their diversity and their voice be heard and seen,” says CMHA CEO Robert Sheehan.
Although CMHA hosts the rally, it is powered by clinicians, administrators, allies, and, most prominently, those person-served clients — Michiganders who have received mental health services. It is a platform for people to come together to show their sense of community and solidarity as well as to inform legislators and the public why support and adequate funding for mental health services are needed, beneficial, and significant.
“Eighty percent of our budget is wages, and the demands for these services have gone up, causing wages to go up 17% in the last two years. Our funding has increased two or three percent.” says Sheehan. “House and senate members who are good allies will say, ‘Bob, we gave you the money last year. Why are you back here?’ We reply, ‘We’re fighting a forest fire, and you give us a Dixie cup of water every time we ask. We’re gonna be back a lot of times to get more Dixie cups because you think somehow that this dollar amount you gave is sufficient, and it is far from sufficient.’”
Walk a Mile in My Shoes rally participants hoped to help make mental and behavioral health services accessible and combat stigma.…