We are very saddened to hear of the passing of former OMH Commissioner and longtime MHANYS Board Member, Jim Stone. Simply put, Jim was a mensch. He was a man of great compassion, intelligence and generosity of spirit.
I had the honor of working for him at the Office of Mental Health. He was a Commissioner who was a visionary. He saw that our system of care did not respond to the needs of our stakeholders. Being a former County Commissioner, he saw the importance of the role of counties as key collaborators.
He also recognized the importance of the peer and family movement. Under his leadership, both peer support and family engagement grew as a priority to the administration.
He also created greater accountability through the SPOA process and he looked at Kendra’s Law, not as enforcement tool but as a part of an alternative strategy for services. He saw the importance of the role of youth and children’s services before many of his fellow Commissioners around the country.
He was also a friend and a wonderful board member for MHANYS. He had a great sense of humor that he often displayed at the board meetings and at our events. Most of all, he was generous and kind.
He will be missed by so many of us.
Our thoughts go out to his family.
— Glenn —
