In 2014, I was in the early days of my recovery from an eating disorder, and although it is a very personal experience, I wanted to share my story to help provide hope to others that recovery from an eating disorder is possible. I chose to work with the National Eating Disorders Association’s advocacy program to lead a legislative campaign in my home state of Pennsylvania because I believe that advocates and those in public service can foster change by working creatively to communicate the needs of individuals.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, yet are among the lowest funded. As a community, we need to fight to change this. According to the NIH, research funding for eating disorders is limited to .93 cents per person affected. Further resources for eating disorder research are needed to help identify strategies to prevent and cure these complex and serious mental illnesses. 

When I was still living with the shame, secrecy, and fear surrounding my history with binge eating disorder (BED), I never could have imagined sitting across from anyone—let alone my Congressman—to share my story.

I'm joining advocates from across the country on Capitol Hill today and we need your help. We're asking for increased funding for eating disorders research and in just five minutes, you can help amplify our voices.

We’re working hard to get more money allocated for eating disorders research, but we need your help.

A letter asking for $10 million in funding is circulating around the House of Representatives right now and we need to get YOUR representative's name on it by the end of the day on Friday, March 31.

When my daughter became sick with a serious eating disorder eight years ago, I found few local resources and limited treatment options. Insurance denied my daughter treatment randomly and often. When we were denied coverage for treatment, I became outraged and she became sicker. I remember thinking, “Is this legal?” Sadly, I learned that while not exactly legal, enough loopholes existed in the system to make denial of treatment possible. Here we were dealing with the most serious, complex, and fatal of all mental illnesses, yet we were unable to get our daughter care.

It has been a historic year for eating disorders advocacy at the federal level. When the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (H.R. 2646) passed the House in July, it was a monumental stride for those struggling with eating disorders, their loved ones and the health professionals working to help them recover, as it was the first time a bill of its kind had passed at the federal level. However, we are not done yet! The bill’s counterpart in the Senate, The Mental Health Reform Act (S.2680) still needs to pass this year, and we need your voices to help bring it to the finish line!

The Senate is getting ready to vote on the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016, which could have a large impact on the eating disorders community. The bill aims to expand access to mental health services, including eating disorders treatment.

The New York State Legislature voted last week to approve a restoration of funding to the Comprehensive Care Centers for Eating Disorders (CCCEDs) back to $1.2 million in the 2016-2017 state budget. This is big news because that funding has been dramatically slashed in recent years, with some centers receiving only $40,000 per center, which essentially eliminated their ability to provide care.

NEDA took a group of amazing advocates to Albany to lobby for the restoration of these funds last month - this victory proves that our voices are having an impact!