Thank you to everyone who attended! A recording of the forum is available for
viewing on YouTube.
Links from the chat and additional resources
can be found here.
Please join the League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County and
The Seattle Times Mental Health Project for a virtual forum on the current state of publicly funded Behavioral Health (mental health and substance use disorders) treatment and services in King County. The forum will be moderated by Hannah Furfaro, Reporter for the Seattle Times Mental Health Project.
Accessible and effective publicly funded behavioral health services are critical to individuals who confront behavioral health disorders and to the well-being of a community. The quality of behavioral health services is "... a major public policy issue worthy of increased understanding and advocacy as referenced in the Mission Statement of the League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County". According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), "the impact of untreated behavioral health conditions on individuals’ lives and the cost of health care delivery in the United States is staggering."
Panelists include:
— Sharayah Lane, Acting Program Manager at Philanthropy Northwest, Member of the Lummi Nation, and Person with Lived Experience
— Isabel Jones, Deputy Director of Behavioral Health for King County
— Representative Nicole Macri, State Representative for the 43 legislative district who also serves as Deputy Director for Strategy at the Downtown Emergency Services Center
— Jim Vollendroff, Behavioral Health Senior Advisor for Policy and Advocacy for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington