Your Voice is Amplified
Speak Up
The NAMI MA Policy, Advocacy, and Communication team will be attending hearings at the MA State House and submitting written testimony on a list of priority bills, plus commenting on the state budget. The Governor’s proposed budget, which is the starting point for the state’s FY 2026 budget, includes $83 million in cuts for the Department of Mental Health. We need many voices to explain to our elected leaders, not just to our NAMI friends or neighbors, how these cuts in services will dramatically affect the care available to those with serious mental health conditions. Your voice is amplified when you communicate with your local legislators.
The Budget
If advocacy efforts fail to make changes to the budget proposal, half of DMH case managers working with adults and children will be laid off, a 16 bed inpatient unit on the Cape will close, jail diversion services like crisis intervention training and clinicians working with police will be significantly reduced, among other concerns. Read the NAMI Massachusetts FY 2026 budget priorities document in the button below.
The Bills
The NAMI MA advocacy team’s priority bills for the 2025-2026 legislative session address these topics.
Supporting first episode psychosis treatment
Eliminating prior authorization requirements
Streamlining credentialing for school counselors
Reducing emergency department boarding
Establishing statutory rights for people receiving mental health services
Commission to study delivery of services by case managers
Department of Mental Health supervision of services to incarcerated individuals and overseeing Bridgewater State hospital.
An outline of the selected bills is available in the button below. Ask your legislators to sponsor these bills to support positive change in our behavioral health care system. Choose the ones that speak to you the most, or send the full list.
Contacting your Legislators
Your legislators are standing by waiting for you to express your opinion. It is completely appropriate for you to let them know your concern and how it affects you and your family. You are an expert on the Massachusetts behavioral health care system. A short email from you that explains your connection to mental health and includes the two documents noted above can make a difference.
You can find the contact information for your State Representative and State Senator on the Massachusetts legislature’s website: malegislature.gov/. Select the “Legislators” tab along the white ribbon at the top of the page. Then choose “Find your Legislators” and enter your address.