Sample letter to your U.S. Representative

(Date)

Dear (the name of your U.S. Representative):

I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor the Mental Illness Consumer-Run Services Support Act (H.R. 2363), which has been introduced by Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-PA). You probably have already received a letter from Reps. Greenwood and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) asking you to co-sponsor this bill.

As one of your constituents, I am writing to add my voice to theirs.

The Mental Illness Consumer-Run Services Support Act addresses the extremely vital role that peer-support services play in the recovery process for people who have mental illnesses. It would authorize a modest grant program to foster the development of mental heath consumer-run services to help people handle and overcome mental illnesses by setting up 10 regional technical assistance centers that would aid in their development.

(Here, if applicable, you may want to add something about your experiences as a mental health professional, provider, administrator, or a family member of someone who has mental illness, to demonstrate the importance of peer-support services to your clients, constituents, or family members, respectively. If you are a member of the general public with no personal connection to mental health services other than your interest in them, you might add something about the need that you perceive exists among your city's or state's most vulnerable citizens.)

This is the first-ever legislation dealing specifically with the concept of self-help, a critical tool in the recovery of people who have mental illnesses. Please add your support to this growing recovery movement by becoming a co-sponsor of the Mental Illness Consumer-Run Services Support Act.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)
(Your Address)
(Your Phone Number)

Return to Mental Illness Consumer-Run Services Support Act Alert page or return to the Mental Health Association of SE PA's home page.