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    4 QUESTIONS + ANSWERS
    Why does behavioral health matter? A 2014 federal survey estimated that 43.6 million (18.1%) Americans ages 18 and up experienced some form of mental illness; 20.2 million adults (8.4%) had a substance use disorder; and of these, 7.9 million people had both a mental disorder and substance use disorder. An earlier report stated that 38% of homeless people were dependent on alcohol and 26% abused other drugs, and that substance abuse is much more common among homeless people than in the general population. MORE
    What steps should California take to increase access to care for those with mental illness and substance use challenges? To our collective shame, local and state prisons are now where most people with mental and substance disorders are being housed. A 2014 study by the Treatment Advocacy Center and National Sheriff’s Association concluded there are ten times as many people with serious mental illness in our jails and prisons than in mental hospitals. The largest psychiatric institutions in the United States are the Los Angeles County jails, the Cook County Jail in Chicago and Rikers Island in New York. MORE
    How can California lead the way in destigmatizing behavioral health conditions? It is high time to acknowledge that those who suffer from chronic mental illness or substance abuse are human beings just like us, deserving of dignity and respect and provided with the resources necessary to survive in our increasingly unequal society. Removing the criminal justice system as a primary treatment locale for severely disordered individuals would go a long way toward destigmatizing mental illness and substance abuse. MORE
    Will you commit to embracing behavioral health as a public policy priority? I have worked as a county mental health treatment specialist for almost 20 years with children and families. I have seen firsthand the devastation caused in my community by the previously mentioned social determinants of mental disorder and have advocated on behalf of the mentally disordered population. I am all too aware of the lack of resources devoted to both primary prevention and early intervention in this area. MORE
  • full q+a
    4 QUESTIONS + ANSWERS
    How can California lead the way in destigmatizing behavioral health conditions? More education is key to destigmatizing behavioral health. We need to learn more about what leads to behavioral health conditions and start to understand these are more common than one might think. MORE
    What steps should California take to increase access to care for those with mental illness and substance use challenges? California should invest more in our mental health service programs – especially for our youth. MORE
    Why does behavioral health matter? Behavioral health matters because it affects all of us. MORE
    Will you commit to embracing behavioral health as a public policy priority? Absolutely. MORE
  • full q+a
    1 QUESTIONS + ANSWERS
    What steps should California take to increase access to care for those with mental illness and substance use challenges? Let’s make treatment more accessible so that mentally ill people who present themselves at hospitals asking for help aren’t turned away Let’s work together to integrate inpatient and outpatient treatment, so that ill people who get out of hospitals don’t need a PhD and a team of administrative assistants to figure out how to continue their care at home. MORE
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