HHS Booklets Help Citizens Take Matters Into Own Hands

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is offering two free, informative booklets to patients, family members, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals in an effort to boost mental health advocacy.

The first booklet, Participatory Dialogues: A Guide to Organizing Interactive Discussions on Mental Health Issues Among Consumers, Providers, and Family Members, describes how states, local communities, mental health professionals, managed care organizations, advocates, and patients can organize meetings and form partnerships, which are hoped to lead to improvements in mental health services, according to HHS.

The second booklet, Filing an Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Employment Discrimination Charge: Making It Work for You, addresses disabled individuals who feel they have been discriminated against on the job due to a disability. The booklet instructs patients on the best time to file a charge and how to file, document, and present a charge effectively.

These free booklets may be ordered by calling (800) 789-2647. The publication code for the Participatory Dialogues booklet is SMA00-3472 and the publication code for the ADA booklet is SMA00-3471. ▪