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Office of Public Information and Education
For additional information, please call (615) 532-6610 - Pager 1-800-283-0007 ID #7449

For Immediate Release
February 18, 2003

Memphis, TN — Commissioner Virginia Trotter Betts told national mental health experts gathered in Memphis that state governments can do a better job meeting citizens’ mental health needs by adjusting policies to incent towards innovative treatments and practices.

In Friday’s testimony to the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, Betts pointed to recent successes by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. As one example, she cited the department’s Creating Homes Initiative, a program that works with local communities to expand affordable housing for people with mental illness. In the three years since its inception, the Creating Homes Initiative has helped nearly 2,800 Tennesseans with mental disorders achieve independent living.

"We face tough challenges in meeting citizens’ mental health needs," Betts said. "But these challenges represent great opportunities. Working together, we can use our combined resources to enhance the mental-health service delivery system."

Betts, a nationally known mental health professional who took over as Tennessee’s mental health commissioner in January, said she intends to build on the state’s past progress in mental health. She mentioned other departmental success stories, including revisions to state law that make it easier to deliver effective services, and work by a task force to implement treatment options for those with mental illness in the criminal justice system.

She, also, outlined a few goals moving forward. Specifically, Commissioner Betts is examining options to develop a mental health model that is more appropriate and responsive to the needs of our citizens. "My overarching goal is to apply known science to the care of people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities in Tennessee and deliver the care through best practices," said Betts.

The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health was launched last April by President George W. Bush. The commission’s visit to Memphis was the latest in a series of meetings held across the country.

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