In May 2015, Milken Institute School of Public Health students enrolled in the Global Mental Health course visited the Valenti House, a community-based halfway house in DC that provides high-quality transitional care and support for people suffering from psychiatric disorders. Students saw first-hand the invaluable, community-based, humane care and support services provided to those who suffer from mental illness.
"It (Valenti House) is one remarkably vivid example of what President John F. Kennedy intended by signing the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963," said Eliot Sorel, the course's professor.
Mr. Gary Frye, Valenti House executive director, and Ms. Linda Meixner, Valenti House development director, welcomed the class to the house for the day.
The Global Mental Health course is a graduate-level course that educates students about global mental health; the interface between public health, mental health and primary care regarding services integration, research and health policy; and evaluating national health systems' performance regarding such challenges in low-and middle-income countries, utilizing WHO criteria.