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(Ambient music)

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A lot of issues that we [br]care about and are active in

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there's absolutely [br]a personal connection.

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It's personal, our family, [br]from my very first date

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with my wife Angela.

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She shared with me[br]her experience in growing up

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as not just a daughter [br]to a single mother,

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but as her mother's [br]caretaker and advocate.

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My mother suffers from...

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or her diagnosis, I should say,

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is a a bipolar I[br]schizoaffective disorder

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So a pretty severe diagnosis.

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Just having learned and been inspired [br]by Angel's experience over the years

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and her familiy's

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really rallying around in support [br]of my mother-in-law.

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It...

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Drove home the lesson [br]that she's she's doing well.

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We could say she's thriving.

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So if there's hope for her,[br]there's hope for almost anybody.

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We know that there's certainly [br]significant need around the country

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for improved mental health support.

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The need for better access[br]to mental health services

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and care, you know...

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By the numbers, it was an epidemic [br]before the covid-19 pandemic.

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But Covid really put[br]a spotlight on the need

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and exacerbated the crisis.

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And so, it was with a sense of urgency

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that we wanted to raise [br]the conversation, the priority level,

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In Congress and particulary[br]here in the Senate.

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(cheerful music)

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Sure.

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Well a lot of credit frankly goes[br]to not just my colleagues,

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Senator Tina Smith, [br]on the Democratic side,

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but to my Republican colleague, [br]Senator Tillis and Senator Ernst.

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The four of us, sort of, [br]the founding chairs of this caucus.

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It was important to make it bipartisan.

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Far too often issues become [br]very partisan very quickly

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and it makes it harder [br]to make progress...

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as a result.

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but, you know, mental health [br]challenges know no boundaries.

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It's not a red State issue,[br]it's not a blue State issue,

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it's a people issue.

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And...

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I give them credit [br]for recognizing that.

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and it was interesting

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as soon as we approach [br]the conversation about the idea

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the first thing, just, like, you know,[br]your first question to me

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the first part of my response

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was not statistics and, [br]you know, position papers

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but personal stories,[br]personal connections

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And it's become one of [br]the first priorities of this caucus,

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how do we use this[br]as a platform

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for people to share their story?

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and in so doing, [br]both deliver the message

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and maybe a little inspiration [br]for anybody out there

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to share theirs.

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you know, one of the [br]big challenges that we have

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in improving [br]mental health in America

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is overcoming stigma.

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there's still far too many people

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that are either too embarrassed[br]or shy or reluctant

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to come foward and ask for help [br]when they need help,

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because of the stigma [br]around mental health.

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We are working hard

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And, again, this is something [br]I learned first from my wife Angela.

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When somebody hurts their leg

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we don't hesitate to go

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"get a check out by a doctor [br]maybe you need an x-ray"

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if, you know, you're[br]suffering from a heart attack,

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there's no shame in going [br]to a doctor and to a hospital

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and in getting [br]the care that you need.

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But when it comes to

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when something [br]may be wrong with the brain

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you know, a very precious organ

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there's still that stigma.

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so we need to [br]overcome that stigma

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and a lot of that is by, [br]you know, leading by example

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and willing to share our stories

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and being very public [br]about experiences and...

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You know, that's one of [br]the first goals of the caucus.

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(cheeful music)

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The first thing I point to

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is the first bill that [br]we've introduced as a caucus.

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Recently the country [br]rolled out a 988 system

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similar to 911,

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a dedicated number,[br]easy to remember,

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that anybody can call [br]if you need somebody to speak to

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if you're in a crisis

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or observe somebody in a crisis.

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There's somebody [br]available to talk 24/7

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English or in Spanish,

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or to text with, 24/7 [br]in English or in Spanish

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to help walk you through a situation

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whether it's a crisis or not.

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(cheerful music)

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You know, sort of big picture

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other priorities for the caucus are

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number one:

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The Safer Communities Act

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that was passed and signed into law

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a couple years ago now,[br]almost two years ago now.

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included a huge amount of funding

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for mental health services [br]across the country.

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This was the bill that came after [br]the shooting in Uvalde, Texas

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You know, some important pieces [br]when it comes to gun safety

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that were approved [br]on a bipartisan basis,

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but this investment [br]in mental health programs

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is hugely significant.

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So why not make sure that[br]those dollars are moving

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quickly, appropriately,[br]strategically, responsibly

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but quickly as well,

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because of the need[br]that's out there.

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And then the last piece [br]I'll just mention right now

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is our bipartisan recognition

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of the need to have a plan [br]when it comes to workforce.

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If we're encouraging more people [br]to seek help when they need it,

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to overcome the stigma [br]and reluctance to seek help

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then we need to make sure that there's [br]enough psychiatrists, psychologists,

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and counselors and therapists.

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You know, all the folks who work [br]in the mental health space

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to be able to provide that support[br]and to provide that level of service.

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So having a a plan with some antenas[br]for a workforce development

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is another priority.

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[Music]

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priority one of the things that we

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recognize is not uh every person with a

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mental illness is home less not every

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person experiencing homelessness uh has

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a mental illness but there is

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significant significant overlap uh and

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so a lot of the the strategies at the

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Grassroots level will reflect that uh

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you know for all the emphasis there is

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on additional uh need for housing

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particularly affordable housing and

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transitional shelters that is important

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but it's really hard for uh to to bring

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somebody in from the outdoor sustainably

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if we're not also providing the mental

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he support uh that they

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[Music]

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need so funing we'll go to the states

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and we work with the states to uh

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recognize what are the priority areas

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and in California you know not just Los

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Angeles not just San Francisco but from

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San Diego to Sacramento to Fresno I mean

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I I don't know a medium to large siiz

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city that uh doesn't have uh this

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challenge of utilizing Mental Health

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Services uh as a core strategy in uh

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supporting the unhoused population uh uh

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come into affordable

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[Music]

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housing separate from the pocket itself

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I have my own piece of legislation that

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would seek to advance through

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Investments uh a culturally competent

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and linguistically competent Workforce

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as I mentioned earlier with more

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encouraging more people to seek help

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when more people seek help we need to

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make sure that we have the capacity to

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provide that support uh and not just

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more uh doctors and counselors

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therapists Etc but the the workforce

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that uh have the language and cultural

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competency to uh best serve that diverse

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[Music]

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population uh yes so again the the

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funding uh approved through the uh safer

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communities act from uh almost two years

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ago has significant amounts of the

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mental health uh dollars dedicated to

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schools you know it's a uh been a

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longtime effort to try to maintain a

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nurse in every school right whether it's

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Minister medications or you know putting you know Band-Aids on pets

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this is the father [br]of three boys speaking.

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You know, it'd be a dream scenario

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to have a counselor [br]or a therapist at every school

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or, ideally, even a Wellness Center.

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They're relatively new concepts [br]in the United States

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but those that are proven to be[br]very helpful to students and communities

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But with resources [br]we can expand that model

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much sooner rather than later.

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(cheeful music)