NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

66 NJAMHAA and NJMHI Pay Tribute to Long-time Leaders While many individuals deserve credit for the establishment, growth and impact of NJAMHAA and the New Jersey Mental Health Institute (NJMHI) over the years, three in particular stand out for their longevity with the organizations: Bill Sette, MSW, LCSW, Jeanne Wurmser, PhD, and Joe Masciandaro, MA, all of whom had served numerous terms as NJAMHAA Board Chair, as well as NJMHI Board Chairs. Early on, Sette, Dr. Wurmser and Masciandaro were also active members of the National Council for Behavioral Health and Mental Health Corporations of America (MHCA), and in fact, Dr. Wurmser was one of the founders who established MHCA in 1985. MHCA’s mission is to advance “innovation and entrepreneurship in behavioral healthcare by enhancing leadership and strategic connections. MHCA exists to equip and empower behavioral health leaders to rise to the challenges presented by a transforming healthcare delivery system,” as described on the association’s website. The trio’s involvement in both associations made NJAMHAA more visible nationally, and they brought national issues to NJAMHAA to augment advocacy with federal legislators, according to Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and CEO of NJAMHAA and Executive Director of NJMHI. “We are eternally grateful for Bill, Jeanne and Joe’s personal investments in developing NJAMHAA and NJMHI and the tremendous contributions and impact they made over the years. They have taken the lead not only in New Jersey, but also nationally,” said Dr. Wentz. Having joined NJAMHAA in 1969, Sette played a large role in NJAMHAA’s early successful advocacy, which included the doubling of the state’s per- capita allocation for mental health care three times: in 1969, in 1973 and in the 1980’s. Dr. Wurmser and Masciandaro also deserve some of the credit for the second and third times this funding was doubled as they became involved with NJAMHAA within a few years of Sette. The triumvirate was also instrumental in NJAMHAA’s effective advocacy for passage of the screening law in 1989; contract reform and the creation of a bond pool that enabled providers to build housing, both of which were achieved in the 1990s; and many other accomplishments over the years, as well as the growth of NJMHI and its impactful initiatives. disorders (SUD) and, when appropriate, referring people to treatment. Evaluations were sent out and it was determined that more than 200,000 people were positively impacted directly or indirectly. At- tendees requested addi- tional training to enable them to provide various forms of referral and/or treatment to support the healing process. In 2012, NJMHI transi- tioned the project into the Sri Lanka Mental Health Relief Project to educate the people of Sri Lanka about the symptoms of mental illness and SUD and how to obtain help. As civil strife in Sri Lanka prevented NJMHI from sending individuals to provide more training, NJMHI with Sri Lankans developed culturally sensitive, tri- lingual brochures about the symptoms of mental illness and self-care tech- niques that were printed, distributed in Sri Lanka and evaluated for their impact. For the final phase of this project, NJMHI selected the Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilita- tion’s (SLCDF’s) proposal, Program for Community Leaders to Enhance their Capacity as Facilitators Debra Wentz with Turn-A-Frown-Around Foundation Founder Drew Horn