Individuals Needed to Testify!!
LD 2237: “An Act to Strengthen Public Safety, Health and Well-being by Expanding Services and Coordinating Violence Prevention Resources”
Hearing Information
Monday, March 4, 2024/10:00 AM
Health and Human Services Committee
(State House Room 127)
Nothing About Us Without Us!
Now is the time for bold action! LD 2237 is being heard on Monday, March 4, 2024, and we need any and all peers to help us shine a light on critical areas in need of reform in Maine’s mental health system. While the bill will address some other areas that we may not as the CCSM (Consumer Council System of Maine) weighs in on there are several key pieces that we hope you will want to speak about. Even if you do not feel comfortable speaking or giving written testimony, we are asking for all of you to show up and help us be a force in numbers so that the Maine Legislature will have no opportunity to disregard our presence. We encourage people to carpool and if you need mileage reimbursement or have any questions, please contact the CCSM office at 207 – 430 – 8300.
LD 2237 Talking Points
While the bill is lengthy here are some key points you may want to focus on:
- There is a major infusion of funding into the mobile crisis system. If you are not aware the State is well underway in a crisis reform that will now include both peer support specialists as co-responders to every mobile crisis intervention. These funds would help make this a reality sooner rather than later! Please also add the importance you feel peers on crisis teams would make.
- There is an infusion of funds into medication management services. If you are not aware, many of our fellow peers are waiting up to 18 months or longer for an appointment with a prescriber. While not everyone wants to take medications, it is a vital service for those who choose it. This service has continued to keep DHHS from reaching compliance with the Consent Decree standards since those standards were created in 2021.
- This bill proposes to put significant funding into 6 receiving centers in Maine. While Portland has been piloting this new service for Mainers for the last 18 months, this would expand the number of centers to 6. Some points we will ask you to consider including in your testimony are making sure that these teams like Portland have a large peer support specialist staffing (more than clinical staff) and we want these programs to be “peer heavy”. We also want to make sure that each center meets the diverse needs of every community served. To do this, the Legislature may have to consider rolling them out in a way that lets centers meet the unique requirements of a given community (for example, the center in Portland may look very different than one that could serve people in Machias). We want to develop these centers on a community-by-community basis. And to accomplish this community conversations should happen before we complete these centers around the State.
Below is other information to help you write testimony:
Register to Testify
If you need assistance writing testimony or have questions,
please contact the CCSM Office:
207-430-8300 or Toll Free:1-877-207-5073
