As presiding commissioner of a mid-size county, I see the need for pathways to mental health services every single day. In many ways it is easier to talk about the demand for actual highways or even informational highways, than it is to discuss the need for mental health infrastructure.  But this is an issue that cries out for leadership. Mental health ought not be a luxury, and we must work to build clear paths for every family, every school, every workforce, and every community to navigate to the services they need.

Families are trying to get their kids help; veterans are coping in silence, and seniors are isolated with grief or confusion. Right now across our counties, boroughs and parishes, many of our mental health systems are like poorly maintained roads and bridges: overburdened, under-reinforced, with potholes patched together with high hopes and shoe string budgets… if they are even there at all.

As an elected official with more than 20 years of service, I’ve come to understand, in a deeply personal way, just how heavy life’s burdens can become. There have been seasons of my own life, intertwined with public service and private pressures, when the weight of responsibility, and the real and imagined expectations of the ones I love and the one’s I’m elected to serve, have threatened to become almost “too much” – too much heart ache, too much worry, too much stress.

During the dark days of COVID-while facing bona fide death threats, and the other responsibilities of those times- the level of stress was excessive. When a trusted friend suggested I consult a counselor- it was just what I needed to return to myself.  I speak about this not merely as a policymaker, I speak as someone who has sat in a quiet room, trying to untangle my own stress and worry, and who walked out feeling a little more whole because someone cared enough to listen. The personal nature of this may be surprising, but I view transparency as a necessary element of transformation… which is what we need.

In my 2023 State of the County address, I broke with tradition in order to spark a public conversation on mental health, suggesting we bring together health professionals, schools, faith communities, nonprofits, law enforcement, and workplaces to create more effective systems of care. Click here to view that address: https://youtu.be/HWSEOL4sr0g

In my nearly three decades of public service, I’ve worked to expand access to licensed counselors, mobile crisis teams, and school-based mental health services, while also making a priority of funding peer support networks and local training initiatives, and we currently have a new county-funded Youth Resiliency Center under construction. No one should feel like they have to carry their pain alone, and no one should fall through the cracks because the system is too fragmented or too distant.

We often hear, “seeking support is a sign of strength” and yet, far too many people are either fearful or unsure of how to take the first step. That’s why we must normalize reaching out, and ensure there are clear, affordable, and accessible paths for people to do so, no matter who they are, where they live or what they’re facing.

All of our communities are unique, and yet what we need, and what we must build together are easily navigated paths to mental health services. This will require investing in providers, crisis response, telehealth access, and a culture that values mental wellness; and it will require the access on Capitol Hill to get it done. Let’s travel this road together.