About Hill Day

Welcome back, friends!

It’s been too long since we’ve all had the chance to gather in Washington, D.C., to share our stories and establish connections with each other and policymakers.

We’re so grateful to all of you for participating in our virtual Hill Day at Home events these past few years. Virtual advocacy and being a consistent presence in Congress members’ inboxes has been critical to achieving policy wins.

But nothing beats the opportunity to sit down face to face with your elected officials and their staff to share your stories, as well as those of your organizations and the people you serve.

For the first time since 2019, we’re convening in person in our nation’s capital to share solutions and urge our elected officials to support key mental health and substance use care initiatives — and we need your help!

The National Council owes its advocacy success to you — your voices, stories and experiences help policymakers understand why we need action now on issues like the mental health and substance use care workforce crisis, overdose crisis and expanding access to care.

Hearing about these issues and the corresponding ideas and solutions from the people living and breathing them every day gets policymakers’ attention.

Across our two-day program, Hill Day is your chance to:

Attend our Public Policy Institute on Wednesday, June 5, and hear from the Biden-Harris administration, congressional staff and advocacy experts on the latest mental health and substance use policy developments.

Explore the new realities of the post-COVID federal funding landscape.
Dive into the 2024 election cycle and its impacts on behavioral health in America.
Get up to speed on key legislation and talking points, including best practices on making the most out of your Hill Day meetings.
Meet directly with the offices of your elected officials on Thursday, June 6, to share solutions and demand action to support and grow the workforce, as well as expand access to comprehensive mental health and substance use care.

Why we advocate

To quote the late Sen. Everett Dirksen, “When I feel the heat, I see the light.”

Elected officials are always busy. To spur them to act, we need to be a consistent blip on their radar. Hearing directly from you -- their constituents -- is invaluable to convincing them to prioritize our issues. When they understand their community needs and hear your ideas to shape the future, they’ll do what’s necessary to help us get there.

Since 2004, our Hill Day advocacy has contributed to achievements like:

Creating Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) and expanding the model nationwide through continued legislative wins.
Appropriating funds that have helped bring Mental Health First Aid to more than 3 million people nationwide.
Bolstering the mental health and substance use workforce through passage of the Mental Health Access Improvement Act and other bills.
Expanding access to substance use treatment and care through passage of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment and the Medication Access and Training Expansion acts, among others.

None of these victories would have happened without your presence in front of elected officials, telling your stories and urging them to act.

When they feel the heat, they see the light. Let’s raise our voices together in June to illuminate a bright future for behavioral health.

How we advocate

Through events like Hill Day, we demonstrate to elected officials that the issues in our field are urgent and actionable. We make it easy for them to act. We use data and storytelling to describe our needs and then provide solutions via our legislative asks. We’re easy to talk to but not easy to ignore. We’re optimistic and relentless — steely eyed, with a spring in our step and a smile. (Make sure to bring comfortable shoes!)

This is just the beginning. Join us in D.C. for our 20^th annual Hill Day! Together, we’ll ensure that, in a consequential year, Congress hears us loud and clear.

Check back here for more details on this year’s
Public Policy Institute program, legislative asks and schedule.