WBUR by Deborah Becker A new report shows clinic workers at the Bridgewater State Hospital often use chemical restraints and seclusion on people held there in violation of state law. Despite the Baker administration's reforms at Bridgewater State Hospital, the report says the facility has significant structural problems, and that staff members are improperly restraining… Continue reading Chemical restraints, isolation often used at Bridgewater State Hospital, new report says
~Tatum Pritchard, Disability Law Center Deeply disturbing findings from Disability Law Center continue to be a front-and-center concern for FFIMI. Not just the dilapidated, unhealthy facility - but equally, or more importantly, the lack of mental health treatment. As litigation director and acting executive director of the Disability Law Center, Tatum Pritchard, states: "It’s a… Continue reading FFIMI Continues to Sound the Alarm – DLC Report Calls For Shutdown of Bridgewater State Hospital and Move out from DOC to DMH – “It’s just a broken facility in terms of the physical plant but also in terms of the services it provides and does not provide.”
By Elizabeth Sinclair Hancq, Treatment Advocacy Center As discussed in the article, mental health advocates have avoided any associations of violence and mental illness, due to concerns of stigma, but as the author states, and members of FFIMI can personally attest to, "Failure to acknowledge associations with violence perpetration in turn risks leaving clinical needs unmet… Continue reading Severe Mental Illness and Violence, Revisited
By Donna Winant, FFIMI Director The mission of Family and Friends of Individuals with Mental Illness (FFIMI) is to advocate for persons suffering from Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and involved in the criminal justice system: to assure they are provided a continuum of proper psychiatric care, treatment, and services across the entire spectrum of the… Continue reading A Model of Care
Massachusetts State Senator Cindy F. Friedman has introduced Bill No. S.1034, which can be viewed at https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S1034. Although as many as 20 States have enacted what are known as Guilty But Mentally Ill (GBMI) statutes, the newly proposed Massachusetts bill differs significantly from those other GBMI statutes in a few critical ways. Those differences lead… Continue reading Important Upcoming Legislation – Why FFIMI Supports It and What Sets it Apart
FFIMI is proud to unveil our new logo which is an original design by one of our family member's loved one who is incarcerated. They put a lot of time and thought into its creation and we feel that the design beautifully depicts a foundational element of our mission - the love we hold for… Continue reading FFIMI’s New Logo
FFIMI is Featured in the MGH Center of Excellence Summer Newsletter We are excited to share about an important partnership that has been formed between the MGH COE and FFIMI. They reached out to us to learn about our lived experience and understand our concerns. The result was the formation of The Correctional Psychiatry Working… Continue reading FFIMI Partnership with Mass General Hospital Center of Excellence (COE) for Psychosocial and Systemic Research
Family and Friends of Individuals with Mental Illness ~ Advocating for those who are Justice Involved 