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4/28/2022
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Mental Health Association of R.I. names Tanzi Legislator of the Year
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 STATE HOUSE – The Rhode Island Mental Health Association has presented Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi with its 2022 Legislator of the Year award.
Calling her a “fierce advocate for the mental health community,” the association praised her years of work in supporting mental health initiatives as a member of the House of Representatives and in the community.
In the General Assembly, Representative Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown, Narragansett) has supported suicide prevention efforts and has helped to introduce and sponsor the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act each year since 2018 until its final passage in 2021. Representative Tanzi also helped to introduce the Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) legislation — often known as “red flag laws” — to empower families and law enforcement to prevent gun tragedies by temporarily restricting access to guns for individuals at an elevated risk of harming themselves or others. She is a former chairwoman of the House Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Human Services.
Representative Tanzi has sponsored the Mental Health Association’s legislation to increase reimbursement rates to behavioral health professionals as a means of rebuilding the broken continuum of care and increasing access to treatment.
Representative Tanzi is the recent past chairwoman of the Washington County Health Equity Zone, a state sponsored organization dedicated to ensuring equal access to quality health, education and recreation for all residents of South County. She has been a faithful member the South County Regional Prevention Coalition meetings and was a founding member of Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, which administers evidence-based programs to address a range of mental health and early childhood development topics. She completed the Crisis Intervention Team training with local police officers.
The association presented the award to Representative Tanzi at a State House event today to kick off Mental Health Month, which is marked each May. The award was presented by retired District Court judge Stephen Erickson. Sen. Alana M. DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown) is the association’s Senate honoree.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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