MHA-NYC's commitment to addressing the complex issues facing returning service members and their families with mental health and substance abuse needs is maintained through The Veterans Mental Health Coalition of New York City (VMHC), a diverse constituency of more than 900 members who are working together to improve access to, and the quality of, behavioral health services for veterans and military families.

• History of the VMHC
• About
• Members
• Publications and Presentations
• Veterans Mental Health Action Committee
• Upcoming Events
• Join the VMHC
• Donate to VMHC

History:

The Veterans' Mental Health Coalition (VMHC) of New York City was founded in 2009 by MHA-NYC in collaboration with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI-NYC Metro).

The VMHC was formed to confront the current and growing unmet mental health needs of veterans, service members, and their families. The VMHC works to improve access to, and the quality of, mental health and substance abuse care for veterans, service members, and their families through education, information, collaboration, and promotion of a comprehensive array of services.

The VMHC consists of a cross-section of over 900 veterans' service and advocacy representatives; behavioral health, health, and social services providers; and local, state, and federal government officials.

About:

The Veterans Mental Health Coalition has established three committees:

• Veterans' Mental Health Action Committee of NYC: advocates for sound mental health policy at the city, state, and federal levels. The Action Committee has been active in promoting state legislation and organizing state and local hearings on the behavioral health needs of veterans, service members, and their families.
• Public Education, Information and Training Committee: disseminates information about evidence-based treatments and other support services currently available in NYC; educates stakeholders in the community about the issues facing soldiers and their families and how best they can be helped; and improves the knowledge-base and clinical competencies of helping professionals and social service providers.
• Communications Subcommittee: identifies and promotes innovative ways to provide better outreach and information to veterans through the use of websites, social media, and other forms of communication.

The VMHC has also become a major source of information, training, and education regarding veterans' mental health practice and policy. This includes:

• an annual lecture series on best practices with national experts;
• co-sponsorship of local and state educational events;
• presentations at conferences;
• advocacy events and trade association meetings;
• a monthly e-newsletter (Voice of Veterans) and bi-weekly event bulletin;
• briefing materials.

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