ABILITY Magazine interviews Senator Alex Padilla

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

there's absolutely
a personal connection.

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

with my wife Angela.

She shared with me
her experience in growing up

as not just a daughter
to a single mother,

but as her mother's
caretaker and advocate.

My mother suffers from...

or her diagnosis, I should say,

is a a bipolar I
schizoaffective disorder

So a pretty severe diagnosis.

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

and her familiy's

really rallying around in support
of my mother-in-law.

It...

Drove home the lesson
that she's she's doing well.

We could say she's thriving.

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

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

for improved mental health support.

The need for better access
to mental health services

and care, you know...

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

But Covid really put
a spotlight on the need

and exacerbated the crisis.

And so, it was with a sense of urgency

that we wanted to raise
the conversation, the priority level,

In Congress and particulary
here in the Senate.

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Sure.

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

Senator Tina Smith,
on the Democratic side,

but to my Republican colleague,
Senator Tillis and Senator Ernst.

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

It was important to make it bipartisan.

Far too often issues become
very partisan very quickly

and it makes it harder
to make progress...

as a result.

but, you know, mental health
challenges know no boundaries.

It's not a red State issue,
it's not a blue State issue,

it's a people issue.

And...

I give them credit
for recognizing that.

and it was interesting

as soon as we approach
the conversation about the idea

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

the first part of my response

was not statistics and,
you know, position papers

but personal stories,
personal connections

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

how do we use this
as a platform

for people to share their story?

and in so doing,
both deliver the message

and maybe a little inspiration
for anybody out there

to share theirs.

you know, one of the
big challenges that we have

in improving
mental health in America

is overcoming stigma.

there's still far too many people

that are either too embarrassed
or shy or reluctant

to come foward and ask for help
when they need help,

because of the stigma
around mental health.

We are working hard

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

When somebody hurts their leg

we don't hesitate to go

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

if, you know, you're
suffering from a heart attack,

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

and in getting
the care that you need.

But when it comes to

when something
may be wrong with the brain

you know, a very precious organ

there's still that stigma.

so we need to
overcome that stigma

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

and willing to share our stories

and being very public
about experiences and...

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

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The first thing I point to

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

Recently the country
rolled out a 988 system

similar to 911,

a dedicated number,
easy to remember,

that anybody can call
if you need somebody to speak to

if you're in a crisis

or observe somebody in a crisis.

There's somebody
available to talk 24/7

English or in Spanish,

or to text with, 24/7
in English or in Spanish

to help walk you through a situation

whether it's a crisis or not.

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You know, sort of big picture

other priorities for the caucus are

number one:

The Safer Communities Act

that was passed and signed into law

a couple years ago now,
almost two years ago now.

included a huge amount of funding

for mental health services
across the country.

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

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

that were approved
on a bipartisan basis,

but this investment
in mental health programs

is hugely significant.

So why not make sure that
those dollars are moving

quickly, appropriately,
strategically, responsibly

but quickly as well,

because of the need
that's out there.

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

is our bipartisan recognition

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

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

to overcome the stigma
and reluctance to seek help

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

and counselors and therapists.

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

to be able to provide that support
and to provide that level of service.

So having a a plan with some antenas
for a workforce development

is another priority.

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One of the things that we recognize

is not every person
with a mental illness is homeless.

Not every person experiencing
homelessness has a mental illness

but there's significant,
significant overlap.

And so a lot of the strategies at
the grassroots level will reflect that.

You know, for all the emphasis there is
on additional need for housing,

particularly affordable housing
and transitional shelters,

that is important.

But it's really hard for...

to bring somebody in
from the outdoor sustainably,

if we're not also providing
the mental health support

that they need.

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So funding we'll go to the States
and we'll work with the States

to recognize what are
the priority areas in California,

you know, not just Los Angeles
not just San Francisco

but from San Diego
to Sacramento to Fresno.

I don't know a medium to large size city

that doesn't have this challenge
of utilizing mental health services

as a core strategy in...

supporting the unhoused population
come into affordable housing.

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Separate from the pocket itself

I have my own piece of legislation

that would seek to advance
through investments

in a culturally competent

and linguistically competent workforce.

As I mentioned earlier,

encouraging more people to seek help.

When more people seek help

we need to make sure
that we have the capacity

to provide that support.

And not just more doctors
and counselors and therapists, etc,

but the workforce that have
the language and cultural competency

to best serve that diverse population.

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Yes, so, again,

the funding approved through
the Safer Communities Act

from almost two years ago

has significant amounts of
the mental health dollars

dedicated to schools.

You know, it's been a longtime effort

to try to maintain
a nurse in every school, right?

whether it's minister medications or,
you know, putting Band-Aids on cuts.

this is the father
of three boys speaking.

You know, it'd be a dream scenario

to have a counselor
or a therapist at every school

or, ideally, even a Wellness Center.

They're relatively new concepts
in the United States

but those that are proven to be
very helpful to students and communities.

But with the resources
we can expand that model

much sooner rather than later.

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