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NOTE: Most TAC press releases are also put out via U.S. Newswire.

National: Virginia Tech Shooting

• April 19, 2007: Mary Zdanowicz was quoted in an AP story that ran nationwide about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. " It does raise some questions and a concern about a system that can find someone imminently dangerous and not continue to follow up on them and make sure they are getting the treatment they need"
• April 19, 2007:Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow writes about the importance of treating mental illness and having laws that support that treatment.  In this very accurate column, he sites the Treatment Advocacy Center
• April 22, 2007: The San Francisco Chronicle quotes assistant director Jonathan Stanley as it reports on the Virginia Tech tragedy and California's mental health treatment laws.
• April 27, 2007: Assistant director, Jonathan Stanley was on the Health in 30 radio show to talk about barriers to treatment of severe mental illnesses.
• April 28, 2007: Ray McAllister quotes Mary Zdanowicz in the Richmond Times Dispatch. He writes that given the treatment laws in VA, we should be surprised tragedies like VA Tech don't happen more often.
• April 29, 2007: Asra Nomani wrote a column for the Washington Post in which she told of her brother's battle with schizophrenia and her struggle to get him help.  She cites TAC and our work to change treatment laws.
• June 12, 2007: Mary Zdaowicz was quoted in an AP story about privacy laws regarding Seung -Hui Cho's medical records.

• June 17, 2007: Investigations into the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16 continue.  Mary Zdanowicz was quoted in the Washington Post story aobut the VA Tech review panel's findings

• August 31, 2007: TAC's legislative and policy counsel, John Snook was quoted in the Roanoke Times coverage of the report released by the Virginia Tech panel.

National: State of the Union

• Jan. 22, 2007: In its cover story, National Journal took a look at the top 10 issues you won't hear about in the state of the union - and talked to TAC's Mary Zdanowicz and E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., on the issue of mental illnesses.

National: DOJ report

• Nov. 15, 2006: KSDK's Art Holliday (filmmaker of "Before They Fall Off the Cliff") cites TAC in a story about the DOJ report for his Missouri television station.

• Sept. 27, 2006: TAC's statement on the new DOJ report is cited in "Mentally Ill Serve Hard Time," from BYU News Net in Utah.
• Sept. 15, 2006: TAC executive director Mary Zdanowicz is quoted in South Dakota's Argus Leader on how mental illnesses affect prison inmates.
• Sept. 7, 2006. New DOJ survey trivializes severe mental illnesses. Poorly devised survey adds misleading new numbers to the debate ... and misses the point. The focus must shift from trying to estimate how many mentally ill are in the criminal justice system to measuring how effective the mental health system is in keeping their clients out of jail.

National: Law enforcement and the mentally ill

• January 31, 2007: TAC's Mary Zdanowicz in Sheriff Magazine on issues from hospital closures to the "flawed policy of choice."
• Sept. 14, 2006: TAC executive director Mary Zdanowicz is interviewed for Officer.com on law enforcement and the mentally ill. [Also see our briefing paper on this subject.]

National: Death of Wayne Fenton

• Nov. 29, 2006: The forthcoming edition of Schizophrenia Research includes an article by TAC board president Dr. E. Fuller Torrey on "Violence and Schizophrenia". Dr. Torrey notes in part:

  Wayne Fenton was a friend and colleague for whom I had great respect. He was dedicated to improving the treatment for individuals with schizophrenia. As professionals, the most important thing we can do to honor his memory is to speak out on the issue of violence and to promote treatment laws that reduce it. As noted by Swanson and Holzer: “No one is served by ignoring the evidence that mental illness is associated with some increased risk for assaultive behavior.”

• Oct. 6, 2006. Psychiatric News looks at the murder of Dr. Wayne Fenton, including an interview with TAC executive director Mary Zdanowicz and a look at the recent CATIE study results on violence . See also a sidebar on "How to stay safe in your office."
• Sept. 7, 2006: The board and staff of the Treatment Advocacy Center mourn the crushing loss of Dr. Wayne Fenton. He was a rare breed of psychiatrist who devoted his career to the most severely mentally ill.

National: Kendra's Law

• July 12, 2007: The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle published a letter from TAC assistant director, Jon Stanley, praising Kendra's Law.
• Jan. 20, 2007, Dateline NBC went indepth on the story of Kendra Webdale and Andrew Goldstein - and the system that failed them both.
• Oct. 12, 2006: Is Kendra's Law constitutional?

California

• Jan. 20, 2007. The San Diego Union Tribune published a letter to the editor by TAC's Mary Zdanowicz.
• Oct. 3, 2006. TAC executive director Mary Zdanowicz says: "With renewal of Laura's Law through 2013, California legislators sent a clear message to counties: California should help people with severe mental illnesses who are too sick to help themselves, and counties will be given more time to use a nationally proven program to do just that."

Illinois

• April 8, 2007:The Chicago Tribune quoted Mary Zdanowicz, TAC executive director, about SB 234 in Illinois that would make it easier for people with severe mental illnesses to get treatment.

New Jersey

• February 26, 2007: The Star-Ledger published an op-ed by TAC executive director, Mary Zdanowicz on how easy it is to blame psychiatric hospitals for all the problems of the system... but that someone should be looking at community providers as well.
  

New Mexico

• Oct. 12, 2006: Is Kendra's Law constitutional?
• Sept. 28, 2006: Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez signs Kendra's Law, says he's hopeful about state legislation but he's not willing to wait. "It's something that the state should have done long ago. ..."
• Sept. 19, 2006: The Albuquerque City Council passed Kendra's Law. The measure now goes to Mayor Martin Chavez for signature. Chavez has been an outspoken advocate for the law, which will help a small number of Albuquerque's sickest citizens who cannot make informed treatment decisions. (Read an editorial in the Albuquerque Tribune).
• Sept. 12, 2006 - Albuquerque (New Mexico) City Council committee unanimously endorses Kendra's Law and sends it to the full Council for approval. Council President Martin Heinrich said the measure "has come a long way and has a lot of important safeguards built into it." Read the full story in the Albuquerque Journal (subscription only). The Albuquerque Tribune reports that five of the total of nine City Council members voted the bill out of committee. They also urged speed of passage.
• Sept. 7, 2006: TAC executive director Mary Zdanowicz in a pro/con debate about AOT in the Albuquerque Tribune

Pennsylvania

• August 5, 2007: Legislative and policy counsel, John Snook, was quoted in the Allentown Morning Call in an article about the tragic death of Gary Miller and his son who has a severe mental illness.  Snook explained the difficulty of getting treatment for a mental illness in Pennsylvania.

Texas

• November 12, 2006: Despite a good law, people in Texas are still lost on the streets. TAC executive director talks about why in the Dallas Morning News.

Virginia

• August 5, 2007: In an article about the shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds in Virginia, the Roanoke Times quoted TAC legislative and policy counsel, John Snook.

• June 27, 2007: The Roanoke Times quoted TAC legislative and policy counsel John Snook in a column about one family's struggle to get treatment in Virginia.
• Oct. 11, 2006: The chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court launches a commission to look at and improve Virginia's mental health laws and processes. TAC executive director Mary Zdanowicz is quoted in the October 11 Washington Post and Richmond Times Dispatch.
• June 27, 2007: The Roanoke Times quoted TAC legislative and policy counsel - John Snook in a column about one family's struggle to get treatment in Virginia.
• August 31, 2007: The Richmond Times Dispatch quotes TAC's John Snook in an article about the problems with Virginia's mental health care system. "We hardly ever see what happened at Tech in terms of outcome, but what we do see every day is the harm done to a family member, a suicide, the loss of a job or another person on the street homeless."

Washington

• May 27, 2007: The Spokesman Review quoted Mary Zdanowicz in its editorial about the shooting tragedy in Moscow, ID.
• May 22, 2007: TAC's assistant director Jonathan Stanley was quoted in the Spokesman Review about Idaho's mental health laws.

Media contact: Alicia Aebersold, 703 294 6008 (phone) or Stacy Fiedler (phone) 703 294 6003, [email protected] (email), 703 294 6010 (fax)

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NOTE: Most TAC press releases are also put out via U.S. Newswire.

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The contents of TAC's website are copyrighted by the Treatment Advocacy Center unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved and content may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, or transferred, for single use, or by nonprofit organizations for educational purposes only, if correct attribution is made. TAC is an I.R.C. � 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. Donations are appreciated and are eligible for the charitable contribution deduction under the provisions of I.R.C. � 170. Please note that TAC does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or entities involved in the sale, marketing, or distribution of such products. Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC), 200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 730, Arlington, VA 22203 703 294 6001/6002 (phone) | 703 294 6010 (fax) | www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org (website) [email protected] (general email) | [email protected] (press contact) [email protected] (webmaster)