I am a victim of a serious mental health crisis that I have absolutely no control over and very few resources available to assist me.

The JFSAP MFLC program has played a pivotal role in providing outreach counseling for members of the Guard and Reserves to help them cope with the impact of multiple deployments. This essential program is ending soon, leaving these warriors and their families with little or no support. The effects of war are NOT time-limited; save this important resource now!

Change the mental health law -- as the law reads at this time, someone who is mentally ill has to either request help themselves or the court has to force them to go in response to an attempt to end their lives. But that's not enough. I'm asking for a change in that law that will allow a first-degree family member (parents, siblings, spouse, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or first cousins) to request a mental health evaluation for someone. This will allow an accurate assessment of someone who may not be in the position mentally to seek help when the family notices a critical change in their personality The average age of onset of schizophrenia is 18 in men and 25 in women. Schizophrenia onset is quite rare for people under 10 years of age. Persons with this mental disorder see and hear things that we do not (delusions). They believe they are real. They also are paranoid of pretty much every thing and everyone. Persons with this disorder don't know they are sick; they only believe their reality. So the probability of someone with this disorder walking in on their own is zero. And since this disease doesn't start in childhood, it cannot be detected and treated while under a parent's discretion. We (the adopted parents, and I, biological mother) started noticing our son was having delusions of crazy events and supposed conversations he claimed having with us in January. And he grew more isolated and paranoid over the weeks. One of his delusions had him threatening his grandfather's life, as he was afraid for his own life for no apparent reason other than what he believed. Soon he thought everyone that loved him was out to get him. We both tried to get him help but his paranoia and lack of capability to trust made it impossible . He even had contact with the Clackamas County sheriff's office, that he called himself (his cry for help). They called me and acknowledged his psychotic behavior and suggested he be seen, but couldn't do anything but hoped we could coax him into a mental health clinic because of the law. I called him in as a missing person April 20th 2014. April 22 2014, I got a knock on my door. My Baby, my only son who just graduated Helensveiw High school; Brandon Alex Mandeville committed suicide April 19th 2014 off Hwy 99 in Aurora, Oregon. He was all alone and believed he had no one; in the dark and cold, and all alone he hung himself. What we didn't know was that he beleived that every one that cared about him was setting him up for a bank robbery , murder, and rape. He made a video of himself telling about it. And he really believed it. That was only one of an unknown number of delusions he was acting out. He had no food except for 1 can of Pork and Beans and his wallet with his E.B.T food card wasn't on his person. His coat was drenched from the pouring rain, and he no longer had a cell phone. He was afraid of the dark and yet had no flash light with him. Also he told the Deputy Sherif that he was heading to California to be a telagrapher just several days before . Prior to the delusions he was trying to make sense of why he was hearing voices and was seeking help. I would not say he was able to make safe decisions for himself. This Petition is no way written to infringe on anyone's rights in any way, but only to get them the proper medical help they need and a fighting chance at beating this illness . Don't let his life be in vain. A law shouldn't have stood in the way of him living. We couldn't save his life, but we can save others This could be your son or daughter or mom or dad or you.

My petition is to take down the pro-Ana and pro-mia sites on the internet. They are harmful to the youth of the whole world. They teach people to starve and hurt themselves. My 17-year-old sister passed away from an eating disorder in 2010 and it's affected our family in every way possible. Please take these sites down before they affect another family.

"About 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network." Autism can be a highly debilitating condition and there are virtually no known effective treatments. Cannabis has therapeutic and palliative relief for the traditional symptoms and conditions associated with autism (particularly strains with high levels of CBD present). Parents and guardians should be protected in their choice to treat their loved ones with cannabis. In order for those who choose this option of treatment to have protections under the law in medical cannabis States it is imperative that autism be added to the list of conditions (e.g., epilepsy, spasms, chronic pain, etc.) so that physicians may legally authorize the use of cannabis in treating autism. Parents along with experts intend to give testimony before Medical Marijuana Review Panels in MI (and hopefully in other States) to demand that autism be added as a qualifying condition! We are calling for the protection of families and physicians under medical cannabis laws in order to utilize cannabis as a treatment option for severe cases of autism! One such parent includes Lisa Christine from Belleville, MI: “Making the decision to use Cannabis to treat Noah’s Autism and Dravet Syndrome was not a decision that was made in haste... Noah has made great strides over the past few months since he began using Cannabis... We’ve managed to wean him off all but one medication used for seizure control and he no longer relies on behavior medications to help control or stabilize his behaviors, as he no longer exhibits aggressive or self injurious tendencies.” Parents aren’t alone in this effort. Dr. Harry Chugani, the head of Pediatric Neurology at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, has specialized in autism for over 20 years and also intends to give testimony before the Medical Marihuana Review Panel in Michigan. Dr. Chugani “supports the approval of cannabis to treat difficult externalizing behaviors seen in autism and protections for the patients, parents, guardians, and caregivers assisting those patients." Other national and local physicians continue to endorse this effort including Dr. Lester Grinspoon, who is an Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon was senior psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston for 40 years and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Grinspoon intends on providing testimony in regard to the relative safety of cannabis. We encourage all physicians able and willing to provide testimony in person, or that would be willing to sign an affidavit in support of these campaigns, to please contact Dr. Christian Bogner: [email protected]. This also applies to any professionals that would like additional information in regard to the research that has been gathered. We would like to indicate to our respective review panels that the medical cannabis community is in solidarity on this issue. If you believe that autism should be added as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis, please take a moment to sign this petition! Every signature counts and we thank you for your support! We encourage groups and individuals to form similar campaigns to the one that has been launched in Michigan in their State. By joining efforts and sharing resources, we have the ability to make a larger impact. Additional resources can also be shared including research and affidavits. Please contact Dr. Bogner ([email protected]) for more info. Thank you, Dr. Christian Bogner, M.D.; Chad Carr; Dr. Harry Chugani, M.D.; Dr. Lester Grinspoon, M.D.; Michael A. Komorn; Joe Stone Research: http://www.scribd.com/doc/218971076/The-Endocannabinoid-System-as-it-Relates-to-Autism Cannabis use to treat autism radio segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX3kD7DXzho Previous denial: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/lara/Final_Determination_Autism_436526_7.pdf Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrfE1ohU5s

I work and attend the University of Southern Mississippi... last year I made approximately fourteen thousand dollars; too much for Medicaid and not enough to qualify for subsidies through the ACA. I am not alone, approximately 300,000 people in the state of Mississippi are working poor. We do not want a "hand-out," we are working people who need help.

As a physician, and a consumer, I am often In the position to explain to pt s how insurance works and it tends to be too complicated or purposely surripticious so that consumers can't understand their coverage

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is holding $16 billion in federal funds hostage, because he hates the Affordable Care Act. As a direct result, over 242,000 Louisiana residents are unable to get Medicaid—and are currently without health insurance. But we can let the people of Louisiana decide—63% of whom support Medicaid expansion. Senate Bill 96 would put Medicaid expansion on the November ballot. Sign the petition to the Louisiana state legislature: Let Louisiana vote on Medicaid expansion by voting “yes” on Senate Bill 96.

The government should organize a "Federal Health Insurance Corporation" along the lines of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (for banks) to provide health insurance. Premiums should be set just high enough to cover the costs of providing benefits and adjusted regularly. This would make the F.H.I.C. revenue neutral, yet would provide significant savings for those who elect to purchase health insurance through this public option.

We need to do everything possible to control the cost of health care. Even with reductions mandated by the Affordable Care Act, private, for-profit health insurance companies add 15-20% to the cost of health care in the United States of America without adding anything in terms of quality or quantity of health care. This compares to the 3% overhead of the Medicare program.

Are veterans who served there are now fighting for their lives and in cases we don't hear about, they are dieing! They did their duty and suffer from it, now it is time to give back to them.

Every child in Pennsylvania should have access to CHIP, regardless of their immigration status. Please remove the barriers in the current Cover All Kids legislation so that thousands of Pennsylvania children can access comprehensive health coverage.