A Unified Vision for Transforming Mental Health and Substance Use Care in America

AAHD and the Lakeshore Foundation are 2 of 35 organizations that have joined 14 founding members of a Unified Vision for Transforming Behavioral Health. Available here are the February 25 statement of the 35 organizations, as well as the December 2020 founding vision statement:

The joint AAHD-Lakeshore Fd statement, located in the 35 organizations statement: “As national public health organizations, achieving the vision would greatly improve the health and wellness of persons with mental illness and substance use disorder. The vision addresses multiple significant elements in a comprehensive way. From a cross-disability perspective, we appreciate the reference to Medicaid home-and-community-based services and the “independent living” approach. We are particularly interested in an essential element for serving the whole health situation of persons with mental illness and substance abuse disorder – “bi-directional” integration of behavioral health, general health, and primary care. From a cross-disability orientation, we are particularly focused on persons with co-occurring disorders, including persons with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder and persons with co-occurring intellectual/developmental disability and mental illness.”