From bomalley at mhanys.org Wed Mar 3 18:19:46 2004 From: bomalley at mhanys.org (Bryan O'Malley) Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 18:19:46 -0500 Subject: [Timothy's Team] HIP-HIP-HOORAY - Timothy's Law passes Assembly Message-ID: <007601c40176$049db6b0$8901a8c0@MHA> Timothy's Law took another step forward today as it once again moved out of the Assembly, with ten members voting against the measure, one less than last year. For those who were able to get to the Assembly Chamber to watch it, the debate was lively, and at times heated. Assemblymembers Tonko (sponsor of Timothy's Law), Grannis (Chair of the Insurance Committee), Rivera (Chair of the Mental Health Committee) and Brennan (former Chair of the Mental Health Committee) all gave stirring speeches in support of the legislation. Assemblyman Joel Miller also deserves kudos for his strong support of the legislation, despite what he himself cited as an "inexplicable" vote in opposition last year. It is very rare that a Legislator seriously analyzes his previous positions and admits that he may have voted incorrectly, and Assemblyman Miller's actions today show his true merit. Ten individuals voted against Timothy's Law, nine of whom we were able to catch their names. Those who voted against Timothy's Law included: * Assemblyman James Bacalles (Steuben and Yates Counties) * Assemblyman Daniel Hooker (Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Greene, Schoharie, Ulster, Columbia Counties) * Assemblyman Brian Kolb (Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Ontario, and Seneca Counties) * Assemblyman Howard Mills (Orange and Rockland Counties) * Assemblyman Charles Nesbitt (Genesee, Niagara, Monroe, and Orleans Counties) * Assemblyman Robert Oaks (Cayuga, Oswego, and Wayne Counties) * Assemblyman David Townsend, Jr. (Oneida and Oswego Counties) * Assemblyman George Winner (Chemung, Schuyler, and Tioga Counties) * Assemblywoman Catharine Young (Alleghany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua Counties) We are currently in the process of identifying the tenth "no" vote. We will inform you of this in the next Timothy's Team alert. BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE The fight to pass Timothy's Law took a big step forward today, but by no means is it over. For close to a decade now, mental health parity, in one form or another, has been voted out of the Assembly. It has never even been brought to a vote in the Senate. Now that the Assembly has done their job and passed the bill in their house, we can focus all of our attention on getting this bill through the Senate. If you haven't already, please try to make plans to come to Albany on March 16 for the RALLY IN SUPPORT OF TIMOTHY'S LAW. We are expecting a huge turnout, to create a presence that makes the rally last September pale in comparison. Buses will be provided from Westchester, New York City, Long Island, Buffalo, Syracuse and Binghamton. Additional buses will be added as the need arises. We need all the support we can get that day, a strong showing will show the Senate that they need to get this done. Remember, it is an election year, and a huge turnout in Albany will show a large amount of discontent in the district if this bill doesn't happen. To find out more about the rally, please visit http://www.mhanys.org/timothyslaw/mar16rally.pdf. Also, don't forget, TUESDAY, MARCH 9 is call in day. Please take two minutes on Tuesday, March 9 to make TWO phone calls. The first call should be to your Senator, letting him or her know that you support Timothy's Law and want them to do everything in their power to make sure that S.5329 comes to the floor for a vote this year. The second phone call should be to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Tell Senator Bruno that you just contacted your Senator, but you also wanted to let him know that you are a supporter of Timothy's Law and you want to see S.5329 pass this year. To reach your Senator, call the Senate switchboard at (518) 455-2800 and ask to be connected with your Senator. To find out who your Senator is, visit the board of Elections search page at http://map01.elections.state.ny.us/boe/main.asp. To find out more information on the Phone-In, scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 9, visit http://www.mhanys.org/timothyslaw/mar9callin.pdf. As always, tell your friends about Timothy's Law. Let them know the positive news. Try to convince them to make a phone call or come to Albany. The movement is growing larger every day, and there is still room on the bus for more. Take a moment and share this e-mail with your friends. Tell your co-workers about Timothy's Law. Be vocal. This effort is not led by those of us in Albany, it is your effort, and the only way we can prove successful in the end is if you take control of this movement and help it grow. Thanks for all of your continued support. Please do not respond directly to this e-mail, as it will not receive a reply. Questions, comments, and suggestions should be directed to bomalley at mhanys.org. Refer A Friend Friend's Name: Friend's Email: Your Name: Your Email: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bomalley at mhanys.org Tue Mar 9 11:43:37 2004 From: bomalley at mhanys.org (Bryan O'Malley) Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 11:43:37 -0500 Subject: [Timothy's Team] Timothy's Law to save hundreds of millions Message-ID: <002f01c405f5$abedc7b0$8901a8c0@MHA> Yesterday, the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS), longtime supporters of Timothy's Law, stood up and added yet another compelling piece of evidence in the case for passage of Timothy's Law. At a press conference in Albany, the organization released a copy of a letter they sent to Senate Majority Leader Bruno, Speaker Silver, and Governor Pataki citing an overall savings to the 2004-05 NYS budget of over $200 million if Timothy's Law is included. $43 million dollars worth of the potential savings would come from savings to Medicaid, costs insurance companies would assume. The other $185 million would emanate from social services savings. These costs result from the other services the state must assume when custody of a child is relinquished, costs such as housing, education, food, clothing, etc... The cost savings associated with the Social Services budget would be a direct savings for the state, and would come as a result of merely keeping the family unit intact. The story brought attention to Timothy's Law in the most unexpected of places, a Business Jounral. A copy of the article in Capital District Business Review can be found at http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2004/03/08/daily5.html?jst= b_ln_hl. A copy of the letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno is attached. Don't Forget - Today is Phone-In for Timothy's Law Please take a few minutes today to make two very important phone calls. First, call your Senator today to tell him or her: "I support Timothy's Law, S.5329. Nobody should die because of insurance restrictions, and I want you to ask Senator Bruno to bring Timothy's Law to the floor for a vote, today!!" When you are done with that call, Call Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, who controls whether or not a bill gets voted on, and tell him: "I want you to bring Timothy's Law, S.5329, to the floor for a vote, today!!!" The movement to pass Timothy's Law grows bigger everyday. We have the momentum, and the other side knows it. Let's take this opportunity to flood the Senate with phone calls, shut-down their phones, and make it known that New Yorkers want the m to pass Timothy's Law and end the discrimination against individuals with mental illness. You can reach both your Senator and Senate Majority Leader Bruno by calling the Senate Switchboard at (518) 455-2800. To find out who your Senator is, go to the New York State Board of Elections site at: http://map01.elections.state.ny.us/boe/main.asp And after you make your phone calls, don't forget to make your plans to come to Albany on March 16. On Tuesday, March 16, you too can "Get on the Bus". Buses are leaving for Albany from New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Binghamton, Syracuse, and Buffalo. A flyer for the event with more information is attached. The flyer is in Adobe Acrobat, and you will need the Adobe Reader to view this document. If you do not have Adobe Reader, it is free and easy to download. You can download this software free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. As always, we thank you for your support. The movement to pass Timothy's Law is a grassroots effort, driven by you. As a collective, we are fighting the powerful insurance lobby who desperately is trying to cling to their ability to discriminate against those living with mental illness. Well, no matter how powerful they are, we are proving more powerful. Keep up the pressure, we are close, but we cannot rest yet. Refer A Friend Friend's Name: Friend's Email: Your Name: Your Email: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Bruno TL save millions.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 20674 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bomalley at mhanys.org Fri Mar 12 16:42:49 2004 From: bomalley at mhanys.org (Bryan O'Malley) Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 16:42:49 -0500 Subject: [Timothy's Team] Winning the battles and the war Message-ID: <005701c4087a$f776d910$8901a8c0@MHA> Well, it's late Friday afternoon, and it is time to assess our week. The phone-in was a huge success. We have heard from multiple Senators that they were bombarded with calls throughout the day. A couple of Senators even went so far as to call Senator Bruno and ask if they could just forward the calls to his office, since they were supportive of the bill. FYI, Senator Bruno's staff reportedly said they were deluged with calls, and instructed Senators to keep a tally and report back with a total. On the tails of this huge success, we are greatly looking forward to the rally on Tuesday. If you have not made plans to come to Albany, you may want to make a last ditch effort. We understand that many of you have work, school, and other obligations interfering with your ability to travel hundreds of miles for a rally in Albany, but I have heard there is a nasty bug going around the state, and if you are starting to get that itchy feeling in the back of your throat *cough, cough*... Anyway, getting away from medical updates, we are expecting quite a successful day next Tuesday. With seven buses coming into town (they are filling quickly, but there may still be space available on a couple of them. Again, they are coming from NYC (2), Long Island, Westchester, Binghamton, Syracuse, and Buffalo), plus a large contingent from the Capital District, the event should be yet another powerful day in our state's Capital city. Heck, it may even be sunny, but judging on the most recent weather reports, an umbrella may be a wise choice when packing in the morning. However, like the postal service, Timothy's Law supporters are out there come rain, or sleet, or snow, or wind - and we will send a message to the Senate that we care about this issue, and that they need to act to pass Timothy's Law now. Speaking of our elected officals here in Albany... There's an old saying, "What's good for the goose, is good for the gander." Did you know that the healthplan our Senators, Assemblymembers and Governor receive HAS full mental health and chemcial dependency parity. That's right, the Empire Plan, run by New York State, provides its members with full parity for mental health and substance abuse services. So, while hundreds or thousands of families throughout New York are forced to relinquish custody of their children to the state, place a second mortgage on their home, or bankrupt themselves to get the mental health and chemical dependency coverage that they need, elected officials only have to turn to their insurance plan. It is time that we let them know, WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE. Why is it that they feel it is ok to provide their constituents with a second tier insurance program? If any one of your elected officials was put in the situation that the O'Clairs were, we could guarantee this coverage tomorrow. However, since they have it, they can afford to stall endlessly. What can you do about this? Take a few minutes and write a Letter to the Editor. Let them know that we only want what our elected officials already have. Remember, brevity is the soul of wit, letters are best under 150 words, 250-300 is the maximum. Always include your name and phone number in letters, your phone number will not be published, but the paper will want to call you to confirm that you wrote the letter. Finally, keep to one point. Talk about parity, include that our elected officials have it, and we want it. End the letter. It is easy. To make it easier, I have included several newspapers' Letter to the Editor contact information below. If your local paper is not included, the information is often available in two places, on the Editorial Page of the paper, as well as on the paper's website. Your tireless support on behalf of Timothy's Law continues to raise the level of awareness on this issue. It is one of the two or three most talked about issues in Albany, and that is largely because YOU are talking about it in your hometowns. Legislators always hear from us in Albany, it is when they go home to the district and are hearing the same things from you that they know they need to do something. In this case, they are hearing about it MORE in the district than here in Albany (which is an accomplishment on your part, because we don't stop talking). Keep up the pressure, together, we can do this. If you have any questions or comments about this e-mail, please direct them to bomalley at mhanys.org. Replies to this message get lost in cyberspace. Refer A Friend Friend's Name: Friend's Email: Your Name: Your Email: Directory of Letters to the Editor for NYS Papers Albany Times Union Letters to the Editor Times Union Box 15000 Albany, NY 12212 Fax: (518) 454-5628 Online: http://www.timesunion.com/forms/emaileditor.asp Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin Letters c/o Press & Sun-Bulletin P.O. Box 1270 Binghamton, NY 13902 Fax: (607) 798-1113 Online: http://www.pressconnects.com/services/editorial/editor.shtml Buffalo News Everybody's Column The Buffalo News One News Plaza P.O. Box 100 Buffalo, NY, 14240 Fax: 716-856-5150 E-mail: LetterToEditor at buffnews.com Elmira Star-Gazette Opinion Page Star-Gazette P.O. Box 285 Elmira, N.Y. 14902 Fax: 607-734-5614, Attention: Opinion Page, Star-Gazette Online: http://www.stargazette.com/Services/lettertoeditor.html Glens-Falls Post-Star The Post-Star Editorial Department P.O. Box 2157 Glens Falls, NY 12801 Online: http://poststar.net/contact/elet_form.asp Kingston Daily Freeman Daily Freeman 79 Hurley Ave. Kingston, N.Y. 12401 E-mail: letters at freemanonline.com Middletown Times Herald-Record Times Herald-Record Attn: Letters to the Editor P.O. Box 2046 40 Mulberry St. Middletown, NY 10940 Online: http://www.recordonline.com/services/lettertoeditor.html NY Daily News Letters to the Editor Daily News 450 W. 33 Street New York, NY 10001 E-mail: voicers at edit.nydailynews.com New York Journal News The Journal News 1 Gannett Drive White Plains, NY 10604 Fax: (914) 696-8396 Online: http://www.nyjnews.com/contact/letters.php3?address=letters New York Post The New York Post Attn: Letters to the Editor 1211 6th Ave. New York, NY 10036 E-mail: letters at nypost.com Online: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/letters/letters_editor.htm Newsday Letters Editor Newsday 235 Pinelawn Road Melville, NY 11747-4250 Fax: (718) 793-6422 E-mail: letters at newsday.com The New York Times Letters to the Editor The New York Times 229 West 43rd Street New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 E-mail: letters at nytimes.com Plattsburgh Press-Republican Plattsburgh Press-Republican 170 Margaret St. P.O. Box 459 Plattsburgh, NY 12901 Online: http://www.pressrepublican.com/cust_serv/news_letter.htm Poughkeepsie Journal Letters to the Editor Poughkeepsie Journal PO Box 1231 Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 Online: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/news/forms/letter_form.htm Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Letters to the Editor Democrat and Chronicle 55 Exchange Blvd. Rochester, NY 14614F Fax: (585) 258-2356 E-mail: dceditpage at DemocratandChronicle.com Schenectady Daily-Gazette Letters Schenectady Daily-Gazette P.O. Box 1090 Schenectady, NY 12301 Fax: (518) 395-3175 Staten Island Advance "Your opinion" Staten Island Advance 950 Fingerboard Rd. Staten Island, New York 10305 E-Mail: editor at siadvance.com Syracuse Post-Standard Letters to the Editor Post-Standard P.O. Box 4915 Clinton Sq. Syracuse, NY 13221 Fax: (315) 470-3081 E-mail: letters at syracuse.com Troy Record Pulse of the People Troy Record c/o Lisa Lewis 501 Broadway Troy, NY 12180 Utica Observer-Dispatch Letter to the Editor Observer -Dispatch 221 Oriskany Plaza Utica, NY 13501 Online: http://www.uticaod.com/news/opinion/letters/letter_form.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bomalley at mhanys.org Fri Mar 26 16:43:04 2004 From: bomalley at mhanys.org (Bryan O'Malley) Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 16:43:04 -0500 Subject: [Timothy's Team] Speaker Silver makes Timothy's Law a priority for this year Message-ID: <002a01c4137b$52141710$8901a8c0@MHA> "I will not rest, Peter Rivera and Paul Tonko will not rest, the Assembly Majority will not rest until Timothy's Law is state law, and until there is mental health parity in New York this year!" - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, addressing MHANYS Legislative Conference "No, that is being smart. When you have the hundreds of people around here saying, 'Pass Timothy's Law,' they (Republican senators) say, 'I want to, and I will, and I support Timothy's Law, and I support all parts of it. Bruno doesn't.' " - Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, on why his Majority colleagues signed on to a bill he and Senator Thomas Libous have called "irresponsible,"- as reported by Erik Kriss of the Syraucse Post-Standard. Well, as many of you are aware, it has been a very busy two weeks. The event on March 16 was an overwhelming success, with a couple hundred brave, hearty individuals braving the snowstorm to come to Albany to honor and pay tribute to Timothy O'Clair on the memorial of his death. The event was a rousing success, with rousing speeches from the O'Clairs, as well as Assemblymembers Tonko and Rivera. Over a hundred of Timothy's friends from Mohonasen High School provided a real dosage of energy for the affair, continually yelling and cheering in support of their friend, and the legislation named in his memory. The rally led to several articles highlighting Timothy's Law in the local media. As is noted at the top of this page, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno followed up the March 16th rally by commenting to reporters that his Republican colleagues did not really support Timothy's Law, but instead put their names on the bill so that they could blame Bruno when their constituents came asking for it to be passed. MHANYS believes that this is not true, that the 34 Senators who co-sponsor Timothy's Law are not trying to play a game of smoke and mirrors with their constituents, that they really do support Timothy's Law. In order to prove this, we are asking you, the constituents of these Senators, to ask your Senator to send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, reaffirming their support for Timothy's Law, maintaining that they do not feel it is irresponsible, and calling on Senator Bruno to bring Timothy's Law to the floor for a vote, as it is currently written. We know that the 34 co-sponsors of this bill know how important it is to New York and its citizens. Now they need your help to make their point clear in their House of the Legislature. Timothy's Law received yet more good news the week after the rally, on March 22, when MHANYS brought approximately 150 people to Albany for its annual Legislative Conference. Numerous speakers took to the podium that morning to call for passage of Timothy's Law. Tom O'Clair once again eloquently and courageously spoke on behalf of the legislation named after his son. Assemblyman Tonko, the bills chief sponsor stood up to call for its passage, announcing that he will not rest until Timothy's Law passes the New York State Senate. Republican Assemblymember Joel Miller, a dentist and small business owner for 35 years, spoke about the negative impact that untreated mental illness and chemical dependency can have on small employers, declaring that small businesses in New York could not afford not to have Timothy's Law pass. Assemblyman Peter Rivera, Chair of the Assembly Mental Helath Committee, rose to speak about the importance of this legislation and once again ceonfer his support for it. Senate Minority Leader David Paterson declared his conference's support for Timothy's Law, and used the occasion to confirm the rumor that his conference would use March 22nd as an opportunity to attempt to bring their version of mental health parity to the floor for a vote (they did so using a politcal maneuver that was defeated along strictly partisan lines, as is always the case with this particular action). However, the moment that certainly was most awe inspiring came when Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, approached the podium. For it is a rare day indeed when the Speaker of the Assembly takes time out from his schedule to personally address 125 people gathered to work on mental health issues. Even more rare is when his message is one of support for a bill that has already passed his house. Typically in Albany, when the Senate or Assembly passes a bill, that house believes its work to be concluded. Sure , the sponsors of the bill will continue to push for it, but leadership turns its focus to other work as yet undone. That is not the case with Timothy's Law. Recognizing MHANYS unfailing commitment to the passage of Timothy's Law as a complete measure, the Speaker of the Assembly chose our event to state that Timothy's Law is a personal priority of his, and to near deafening applause, he announced that he and the remainder of his conference will not rest until Timothy's Law becomes law. These are truly exciting times in our push to ensure passage of Timothy's Law. We have more momentum than ever before, and as always ,it is solely becasue of you and your efforts in thecommunity. Take encouragement from the fact that you are making a difference, and keep up the hard work. Know that Timothy's Law is where it is because you have fought so hard. But we can not rest now. We have the momentum, and it is becoming more and more difficult for Senator Bruno to ignore the will of his colleagues in the Senate, as well as the will of New York's citizenry. Please, take a few moments and contact your Senator. If you can, schedule a meeting with him or her. Be sure to keep it positive. Let them know that you know Senator Bruno wasn't talking about them, and you would very much appreciate it if they would send the Majority Leader a letter reaffirming their support for this bill, and asking him to bring it to the floor for a vote. Ask them to provide you with a copy of the letter, so you can then follow up with the Majority Leader yourself. Thank you so much everyone for all of your hard work on this important issue. Please take a moment to forward this message on to your friends, to help the movement to pass Timothy's Law grow even further. Talk about Timothy's Law to your friends, families and coworkers. Every time you mention it, the movement grows larger. If you have questions or comments related to this e-mail, please do not reply to this e-mail. Instead, send the message to bomalley at mhanys.org. Bryan R. O'Malley Education Campaign Manager MHANYS 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 415 Albany, NY 12210 (518) 434-0439, ext. 29 (518) 427-8676 Please visit www.mhanys.org/timothyslaw to find out more about ending discrimination against those with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, and to find out what you can do to help. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: