Accomplishments

The statewide coalition has held six annual conferences drawing ever increasing numbers and highlighting best practices across the state.

Featured speakers have included leading practitioners in aging and mental health, top state administrators and clinicians from promising demonstration project. In conjunction with the Boston University Institute of Geriatric Social Work and MAOA, a blended model of online and face to face training was developed. It sought out leaders in aging, mental health and emergency responders. The coalition supported MAOA, Massachusetts Geriatric Substance Abuse Task Force and DPH on significant number of elder mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention conferences. A local coalition, The Greater Lowell Elder Mental Health Collaborative, created a web site for elders and their caregivers have an easily accessible tool for understanding issues, learning about existing services and finding out the work of the local and statewide coalitions.

Four and a half years ago, crucial progress was made in uniting key players in an elder mental health system. This partnership took place between Massachusetts Aging and Mental Health Coalition and three state departments: Department of Mental Health, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Department of Public Health. From a common recognition of need, The Elder Mental Health Planning Collaboration was created and began meeting monthly since May of 2004. It is now officially a subcommittee of the DMH’s State Mental Health Planning Council. It has been a very productive group and has:

  1. Promoted a series of six regional listening sessions on elder mental health conducted by the Secretary of EOEA and the Commissioner of Department of Mental Health.
  2. Fought for and received Performance Incentive in FY 07 for Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership to study and recommend steps necessary to make the mental health crisis and emergency services system age sensitive especially for elders.
  3. Proposed and contributed to a study of the PASRR screening and how it might better contribute to the understanding of the need for institutional and community placements for elders with mental health conditions.
  4. In 2004, wrote and received a SAMSHA’s Eliminating of Barriers Initiative grant to compose a resource guidebook on elder mental health, developed by MAOA. Another publication entitled Hidden Issues was prepared by a local coalition, the Boston Coalition on Elder Mental Health which studied the problems faced by elders in Boston.
  5. Collected and reviewed past task force reports on changes to the elder mental health system.

Our history and purpose is quite unique.