In Alliance
Our Mission
We advocate for better mental health and substance abuse treatment in Oklahoma.
Mission
The mission of the Alliance of Mental Health Providers of Oklahoma is to advocate for better mental health and substance abuse treatment in Oklahoma.
Statewide Association
The Alliance is a statewide membership association working to strengthen services for those suffering from mental illness and substance abuse. We are aligned and united to an effort to reinforce mental health as a central component in Oklahoma’s health care system.
Strategic Leadership
The work of the Alliance includes public policy and legislative advocacy; public awareness and outreach; stakeholder coordination; product and service development; member support; networking opportunities; training, and education.
The Work of the Alliance
Our Mission
Our mission is to advocate for better mental health and substance abuse treatment in Oklahoma.
Policy & Legislative Advocacy
We work to educate and inform local, state, and national lawmakers, traditional media, social influencers, and the public about the importance of the mental health system in Oklahoma. We advocate and lobby for better mental health and substance abuse treatment. We evaluate bills, policies, and ordinances, etc., and their potential impact on the state’s community-based mental health system. Ultimately, we strive to change public policy, laws, and even systems on behalf of Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens.
Public Awareness & Outreach
We work to increase public awareness of Oklahoma’s community mental health providers and the critical role they play in transforming lives and communities through the various services they provide. We accomplish this through a variety of tools and products including special events, publications, and campaigns.
Product & Service Development
The Alliance provides products and services to assist members with lobbying, advocacy, and public awareness. These products including annual legislative issues, policy advisory calls, legislative receptions, and meetings, etc.
Member Support
The Alliance reviews and tracks issues and proposed legislation that intersect with the organization’s mental health policy priorities. It nurtures an alliance among all members who are allied by a common cause, and then supports those members through advocacy, lobbying, public relations, public awareness, and outreach, etc.
Training & Educational Opportunities
The Alliance organizes members-only opportunities designed to increase their knowledge of issues and strengthen their relationships with each other, policymakers, and elected officials.
Who Is the Alliance?
The Alliance is a 501(c)(6) membership-based, nonprofit, and grassroots advocacy organization. Our mission is to advocate for better mental health and substance abuse treatment in Oklahoma. Founded in 2020, it serves as a trusted and unified voice on behalf of nine member-agencies. They include seven Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHC). They are: Counseling and Recovery Services of Oklahoma; CREOKS Health Services; Family & Children’s Services; Green Country Behavioral Health Services; HOPE Community Services; Lighthouse Behavioral Wellness Centers and Red Rock Behavioral Health Services. Together, they form a large safety net for Oklahoma’s most vulnerable youth and adults who fall at or below the poverty level, and who struggle with serious mental illness and/or addiction.
Number of people who died from drug overdose in Oklahoma (June 2019-May 2020)
Number of Suicides in Oklahoma (2018)
Number of adolescents in Oklahoma who have had a MAJOR depressive episode in the past year
COVID-19 and Mental Health
One in five Oklahomans had a mental health condition prior to COVID-19. Now an estimated 40 percent of Oklahomans are experiencing anxiety and depression, and the CDC reports that Oklahoma opioid overdoses have increased by more than 50 percent in the last 12 months. Due to an increase in the trauma associated with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the risk of childhood mental health conditions also has elevated. (Source)
Untreated Mental Illness, Addiction
Untreated mental illness and addiction lead to increasing costs for the government and the private sector, less economic growth, and poorer educational and health outcomes. Nearly 60 percent of Oklahomans in need of treatment last year did not receive it, according to Mental Health America.
Pandemic and Mental Illness
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic vs. 2018, U.S. adults are 8 times more likely to fit the criteria for serious mental illness. (Source: Open Minds)
Mental Illness and Quarantine
62 percent of Americans reported feeling more anxious in 2020, compared with 32-39 percent in prior years. (Source). Moreover, mental illness can develop in as little as nine days of quarantine and these disorders can last for years. (Source)
Address
4400 N. Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Phone
(405) 352-0565