Yesterday, we held our annual Mental Health Matters Day along with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It was a great success with over 350 people from around the State attending including our affiliate members, high school and college students, and first responders. Next week, we will have a more comprehensive view as well as a gallery of pictures.
We had Senate Mental Hygiene Chair Brouk, Senate Substance Use Chair, Fernandez, Assembly mental Health Chair, Simon, Assemblymember Kelles, Office of Mental Health Commissioner Sullivan, State Education Deputy Commissioner, Jeffrey Matteson, Jim Allard, Sheriff of Steuben County, Officer George Hill, Hauppauge high school student Jacob Wolmetz, and we finished up with former MHANYS Production Team Director, Cohen Miles-Rath, who shared his incredible personal story. The book about his story, Mending Reality, will be out in a few months from Simon and Schuster.
After the speakers, we held a rally at the Capitol with hundreds of our folks screaming out that “We Can’t Wait for 7.8.” Before the rally, young people and several first responders shared their own mental health struggles and how their resiliency led to their recovery. It was incredibly powerful and as one of our staff said, “I should have brought more tissues.” After hearing these stories, it would be hard to imagine a legislator or policymaker who would not support a 7.8% increase for workforce and operations.
Then we held over sixty individual/group legislative meetings. I was honored to be part of a meeting with First Responders who shared the need for supporting funding for First Responders and the MHANYS HERO program. We also had an opportunity to meet with the Governor’s Office, Division of the Budget, Assembly Ways and Means Chair, Gary Pretlow and Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Ranking Member of the Senate Mental Health Committee.
This week alone, between the Human Services Council and MHANYS, legislators have heard from over 700 people chanting “We Can’t Wait for 7.8.” We must keep up the pressure over the next two weeks. The workforce and the operations of our agencies must be paid a decent wage of more than $36,000 a year (the average salary of a human services worker, according to the Human Services Council.)
