The Time for This Will Come

On July 20, 2012 a man with a serious mental illness entered a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. He set off tear gas grenades and then shot into the audience with multiple firearms. He killed 12 people and injured 70 others. At the time of this incident it was the largest number of casualties in a shooting in the United States. 

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Two nights later my son, Patrick, showed me an editorial cartoon he was reading online. The cartoon pictured a man with a disability standing on the sidewalk gazing up at a very long stairway that led up to a psychiatrist sitting in the clouds. On the sidewalk right next to the man was a gun store with an open door and a sign saying, “Come Right In.”

Patrick and I discussed the obvious irony in the cartoon for a few minutes. Neither of us could find words to express our sadness about the Aurora incident. Like most people across the country we had watched and listened to many stories on television about the victims of the shooting. As we talked about the cartoon I felt my eyes tearing up.

At that moment I felt an impulse to do something. I felt compelled to respond to the horrible incident in Aurora in some small way. So I went upstairs to my computer and sent the following email to an acquaintance of mine who worked as a fundraiser for the NRA.

Hello Ben. I have wondered lately if the NRA supports (or would be interested in supporting) improved access to mental health programs for high risk individuals. I think this represents a win/win opportunity for otherwise opposing interests. What do you think?

I did not expect a response to this email. But the act of writing and sending it helped me feel a little better. Taking a useless action felt slightly better than taking no action at all. At that moment I had no 
idea why or how the NRA could support improved access to mental health services. I just had a feeling that something as counter-intuitive as this might be a good idea.

I forgot about the email so I was surprised to receive a response from Ben about a week later. He emailed me and asked me to give him a call. We chatted for a few minutes about a mental health project that the two of us had worked on prior to his accepting a position as Vice President of Development for the NRA. Our former project involved teaching basic business planning and fundraising skills to people with disabilities who wanted to start their own “micro-enterprises.” Ben and I worked on this project intermittently for three years and helped several “teams” of people with mental illness launch their own very small businesses. Our phone conversation eventually got around to the subject of my email.

Ben said that it was possible, although not likely, that the NRA would support the idea of improved access to mental health treatment for people who might be at risk of violent behavior. I found his opinion encouraging so I kept my mouth shut and just listened. Ben explained that for years the NRA had supported the idea of restricting gun sales to people with mental illness. As an example, he described an appearance of Wayne LaPierre, the CEO of the NRA, on a TV talk show years several years ago. During the talk show Wayne (as Ben referred to him) expressed his support for restricting gun rights to people with mental illness. According to Ben, Wayne got really angry and said something like, “but the damned ACLU won’t allow it to happen.”

I eventually searched around on the internet and figured out that the “it” that the American Civil Liberties Union would not allow was the NRA’s idea to limit gun sales to people with mental illness by creating “an electronic universal mental health registry of people adjudicated to be incompetent.” I saw some obvious legal and ethical problems with that idea but it seemed like a good place to start a search for common ground between the NRA and advocates for improved mental health services.

Ben told me that he had a very good relationship with Woody Phillips, Chief Financial Officer, of the NRA. Woody also managed the NRA Foundation. Woody’s office was right next door to Wayne LaPierre’s. Ben said he thought Woody Phillips would be the most receptive person within the inner circle of executive leadership of the NRA. Ben said that he would present the idea to Woody. This was beginning to sound very interesting.

On August 1, 2012 Ben sent me the following email message and copied Woody Phillips.

Michael - Thanks for your note of July 23 asking about NRA's possible interest in improving access to mental health programs for high-risk individuals. I spoke today with Woody Phillips, the CFO for NRA. NRA has a strong interest in mental health issues as they relate to the protection of the Second Amendment. Woody would be happy to speak with you about NRA's interest and hear your thoughts.

Woody invited you to join us in a phone meeting to discuss these matters. My assistant will be in contact with everyone to set up a time and the details of the call. I will also have her set up a time for you and me to talk before the phone call with Woody.

Please let me know any thoughts or questions in the meantime. I look forward to talking again soon. thx ben

Ben

This was now sounding incredible. I was about to have a conversation with the CFO of the NRA about the organization’s possible support for improving mental health services. After a series of emails with Woody’s secretary a conference call was set for August 16, 2012. Ben and I agreed to have a conversation prior to our phone call with Woody to get clear on the “what” and “why” of our message.

In the days prior to the conference call I had some moments of doubt. This certainly seemed like an interesting opportunity but an opportunity for what? What was I really talking about? What did I want to see happen?

I decided that a realistic expectation for my conversation with Woody Phillips would be to get an agreement from the NRA to meet privately with representatives of national mental health advocacy groups. I thought if human beings from these divergent groups could meet together in the aftermath of Aurora they might spontaneously find some areas of agreement. I fantasized being the facilitator of the meeting and moderating the discussion.

Suddenly a different problem occurred to me. What if the mental health advocacy community was unwilling to participate in a discussion with the NRA? So I called Linda Rosenberg.

Linda Rosenberg is the President and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health. The National Council describes itself as “the unifying voice of America’s mental health and addiction treatment programs.” The organization has 2500 member agencies across the country. Among many other activities, the National Council hosts a program called Mental Health First Aid which trains teachers, church leaders, court counselors, and others who are not mental health professionals to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness and to make appropriate referrals for treatment. I had recently introduced Linda as a keynote speaker at a conference in North Carolina and I hoped she might remember my name.

I am not sure Linda remembered my name but she took my call. I said something like, “Linda, I have a very unusual idea.” I went on to make the following points:

• I had two contacts within the NRA.
• The NRA might be motivated to do something positive related to improved access to mental health services.
• The NRA and the National Council are both headquartered in Washington, DC and both are very effective at lobbying Congress. Imagine the possibilities if the two organizations could find even one policy position that they agreed on.

There was a long pause. I don’t remember exactly what Linda said but she did not sound convinced so I made another point.

• One of my contacts at the NRA is a fundraiser and the other is the administrator of the NRA Foundation. The National Council might be able to persuade the NRA Foundation to fund an expansion of the Mental Health First Aid program.

I do remember what Linda said then. “Michael, we will talk to anybody.”

So, game on.

On August 16, 2012 Ben and I had a preliminary phone conversation in which he gave me some background on Woody Phillips. Ben cautioned me to keep the conversation on “the right issue” which was mental illness, not guns. I told Ben that I did not have a gun and never experienced the need for one. I did not know anything about guns but could contribute some ideas about mental health issues.

The conference call with Woody was extremely friendly and interesting. I learned that Woody was from Henderson, NC, a town with which I was very familiar. Woody graduated from Wake Forest University. He was fluent in the language of college sports. He sounded like a pretty regular guy.

Once we got on topic of the call I talked a little about some of the barriers to treatment that many people with mental illness experience. Woody and I discussed the cultural stigma associated with mental illness and addictions. We talked about the lack of services in so many rural communities like the one he grew up in. I spoke briefly about how Mental Health First Aid was helping people in rural and urban communities across the country.

Eventually, Woody reminded me that the business of the NRA was protecting and promoting the Second Amendment and that mental health was not part of their mission. He asked me to explain my proposal. I told him that I was merely suggesting a private conversation among leaders of the NRA and the National Council of Behavioral Health. I told him that I did not know what specific outcomes would flow from the conversation. I pointed out that both organizations were highly effective in shaping public policy. If they could find a shared goal or a common policy position they might surprise people in both camps. Woody sounded interested.

He stated that “nothing is going to happen until after the election in November.” He said he would ask his secretary to remind him to revisit this topic after November 6, 2012 and to schedule another meeting with Ben and me.

Shortly after we ended the conference call I got the following email message from Ben.

8/16/2012 Appreciate your being on the phone with Woody. It was a very positive conversation. I will keep encouraging Woody to look for a date for a next meeting after the election. It would be great to consider other potential mental health partners that could work together to accomplish the shared goals we discussed. Will be in contact as we look to next meeting after 11/6.  Thx ben

   

I was encouraged, even excited. There was something exhilarating about this. Perhaps, it was exhilarating because it was an attempt to do the impossible.

The Presidential election came and went. I waited impatiently for a few days and then started sending short, friendly email reminders to Ben. I was probably annoying. Eventually, Ben responded.

Hi Michael. Thanks for this note. I have a reminder set on this for Monday, November 19. I will reach out to Woody at that time to try to get something moving forward on this. Thx ben.

I waited. Then all hell broke loose.

On December 14, 2012 a young man with a serious mental illness shot and killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. 

The entire country seemed to be in a state of shock. That afternoon I sent an email to Ben that ended with:

The news out of Connecticut is heartbreaking for everyone. I am sensitive to how busy you are and I do not want to push too hard on this. However, I cannot give up.

Ben sent the following response:

       You were the first person I thought of when I heard this                    news.I will contact Woody again on Monday.  Thx  ben

Things at the NRA seemed to be moving very quickly. I sent Ben another email with a list of suggestions that I thought they might consider regarding "the mental health issue." I thanked Ben for his courage in sticking with this. He responded with:
        
        I will. Today is probably one of the craziest days in history               there. Let me think about timing. I know it has to be right                 away. Thx. Ben 

On December 19, 2012 Ben copied me on the following email to Woody Phillips in which he summarized my suggestions.

Woody: Michael sent the following notes to me. I am sure there are plenty of discussions about NRA's response to this tragedy. Wayne, you and the gang know how to manage this far better than Michael or me. I believe Michael's thoughts were worthwhile as a possible forward stance that NRA could take. So for what they are worth...

1. More effective restrictions on gun procession for people known to be experiencing symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia

2. Protecting the Second Amendment rights of people with mental illness or histories of mental illness who are not a threat

3. Supporting an unprecedented national public health campaign to educate citizens about serious mental illnesses and appropriate individual and community responses

4. Promoting re-examination of state's involuntary commitment laws for people with serious mental illness

The question I keep hearing asked is - what if anything would have prevented this guy from doing what he did? None of the suggestions I have heard in the media would work or have done so. However, numbers 3 and 4 would certainly be steps forward that NRA could suggest and support. I liked them because they put the focus on mental illness and not guns.

All my best to you. Thx ben

Shortly after that email was sent Ben and I talked briefly on the phone. Ben had learned that someone else at the NRA was assigned to follow up on their response to the “mental health” issue. Ben said that the NRA was now considering the formation of their own Mental Health Commission to study the issues and make recommendations. He thought this might be announced soon at a press conference. Ben said he had recommended that I be included on this Commission.

On December 21 Ben copied me on the following email that he sent to the NRA staff person who was organizing the Commission.

Hi Millie.  Know it is crazy so I will be very brief. You should have an email forwarded to you from Woody about Michael Owen, including his resume.  Michael is someone that should be included on the NRA’s mental health commission. 

He brings great insights into the mental health community including how it really works (or doesn’t). He is a grassroots, community mental health person of very high intellect who is not afraid to challenge the status quo. In fact, my work with him was part of a state-wide effort in North Carolina to change the whole delivery system for mental health services in NC and Michael was the straw stirring the drink. He also can help Wayne and the NRA understand the mental health community and how to communicate with it and about it. Please note this. His original approach to me about organizing mental health leaders to work with the NRA to address the mental health/Second Amendment issues was more than six months ago, which I discussed with Woody this past summer. Michael, as he communicated in his note to Woody, is very committed to helping to solve the correct issue. If you need any further information on Michael, please contact me. 
You are in my prayers at this time of great stress to our Second Amendment right. Regards to Ralph.  Thx  ben  

Later that day Ben sent me a one-sentence email. He said, “I think we have been blown off.”

I did not immediately understand the significance of that sentence. However, it became clear when the NRA held a press conference that same day - Dec. 21, 2012. I was hoping they were going to announce the formation of their Mental Health Commission. Instead, Wayne LaPierre announced the formation of National School Safety Shield Program. This NRA-funded initiative was being created to put an armed security guard in every school in the United States. They had decided to go in a different direction.

Starting in January 2013 I have sent an email every few months to my contacts at the NRA. The most recent one was last week. The messages are always short, polite reminders about the potential value of building a relationship within the mental health advocacy community. Back on October 24, 2013 I got a reply that offered enough encouragement to keep trying. It said:

The time for this will come. Stay in touch.