• Establishment of mental health care as a priority of the public.
• Funding for and provision of services to all who need them
• Eradication of prejudice and discrimination against the mentally ill.
• Elimination of bio-genetic causes of mental illness.
• Promotion of emotional well-being as an integral part of personal health maintenance.

• By gathering and interpreting information about mental health problems and conditions to the public and individuals who shape public policy  for the mentally ill.
• By evaluating a variety of public and private mental health services; making recommendations for improvements in these programs; and undertaking demonstration projects to link individuals to needed services.
• By making available to the public, as well as providers and recipients of mental health services, educational literature and programming covering all aspects of mental health and mental illness.

1. Obtained passage of the Michigan Visiting teacher (school social worker) Act in 1944.
2. Rallied citizen support in the early 1950's for a successful state bond issue referendum, which dramatically increased the number of state psychiatric hospital beds and provided funding for Hawthorn Center (for mentally ill children) and Lafayette Clinic (research, training, and care facility).
3. Obtained the first public appropriation (in the early 1960's) for community aftercare services in Michigan; initiated and marshaled the forces for enactment of the state's first Community Mental Health law (Public Act 54 of 1963) and the subsequent birth of the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards.
4. Served as a catalyst for the modernization and humanization of state mental health statutes, resulting in passage of the landmark Michigan Mental Health Code (Public Act 258 of 1974).
5. Procured the first legislative appropriation (1976) for a specifically designated prevention line item in the Department of Mental Health (DMH) budget.
6. Drafted and introduced the legislation which eventually became the so-called "Children's Bill of 1984," governing the standards for voluntary admission and discharge of children to and from psychiatric hospitals.
7. Conceived, organized and chaired the highly acclaimed 1986 report, Mental Disability Prevention in Michigan, sponsored by Rep. Joe Young, Sr.
8. Established and conducted (1990) the first community-based monitoring programs of residential settings, providing services to mentally ill persons.

As we look ahead, MHAM is:

• focusing on Health Care Reform by advocating for the inclusion of comprehensive mental health services and insurance parity for persons with mental illness;
• addressing mental health research and development issues and revisions to the Mental Health Code; and
• administering the National Institute of Mental Health's Depression Awareness Referral and Treatment Program in Michigan.

 
 
SOURCES OF FUNDING
    The primary source of funding for MHAM is the United Way of Michigan, which in turn, is funded by local United Ways.  The balance of Association funds is derived from memberships, public and private grants, memorials, tribute gifts, and special events.  Contributions to the Association's Endowment Fund are encouraged. MHAM may be remembered in your Will.