The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act was voted on andPASSED as amended last night in the US House of Representatives. You heard me right. Wahoo! Here you go with the details. It passed with 391 votes for, 8 against, and 32 abstentions.

Now on to the Senate. We may have to be patient, as the Senate is pretty busy these days, but that just gives us time to continue growing the list of individuals and organizations supporting this bill. The list is now being compiled state by state. Please make sure you are on it. Here are states beginning with A through H, states I through M,states N through P,and states R through W. If you want to be on the list, email Susan Stone at susanstonelcsw@aol.com. Give her your name, your STATE,and credentials if any(like MD, LCSW, etc) and/or whether you are an advocate, a survivor, a concerned citizen, etc. If you represent an organization, list that as well. If your state is looking pretty lame right now, you can help by reaching out to those who you know care about this issue. Thanks!

P.S. Do you have an organization whosemembers who would be interested in signing on as individualsin support of this bill? Don't just leave it to putting the name of your organization as supporting the MOTHERS Act. Check out New Jersey's list as an example. I'm working hard on Georgia.