mental health – Missouri House of Representatives Newsroom

Task Force resumes look at Missouri’s response to substance abuse

A Task Force that hopes to advance Missouri’s response to substance abuse has resumed work.

*Representative John Black (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

The Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention Task Force met in the 2023 interim and developed recommendations for the legislature, some of which were enacted. One of those was that it be continued this year, and its chairman, Representative John Black (R-Marshfield), is glad that was passed.

“I think we’ll do more or less the same thing we did last year. We’ll look at some of the issues that we’ve identified for review this year and then hopefully the Task Force will continue to refine those and come up with more issues. The budget, of course, is a big deal,” Black said after the Task Force met Monday.

Representative Del Taylor (D-St. Louis) is glad to be a part of the group.

*Representative Del Taylor (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“Missouri, as our counterpart 49 other states, as well as most countries in the world, are really struggling with getting our arms around substance abuse disorder.” He said the group heard from experts Monday that, “[Substance abuse] is kind of how we respond to our own different mental illnesses.”

The Department of Mental Health’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Angeline Stanislaus, opened the session with a discussion of the neurobiology of addiction. She said much has been learned in the last three decades that can guide the state’s programs.

It was believed in the medical field some 20 or 30 years ago that when a substance was out of a person’s system and they resumed using it, it was by choice and they had an issue with discipline or willpower.

“That was the mindset in which we were trained as physicians in the 1990s,” Stanislaus said. “There’s been more research now to show that just because a substance is out of the system … but all the neurotransmitter changes the substance did before it got out, they’re still lingering and the body’s still working on them. This is the new understanding over the last couple of decades, it took us this long to understand that.”

*Dr. Angeline Stanislaus and Director Valerie Huhn with the Department of Mental Health (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Stanislaus said many people who abuse substances like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin do so because they were victims of childhood abuse or neglect that altered their brain chemistry.

“The brain wasn’t connected the way to produce a natural level of dopamine and neurotransmitters that a brain needs for us to lead healthy lives … same thing with violence. Witnessing a lot of violence changes the brain chemistry. There’s a lot of fear. The neurotransmitters that are impacted by fear will go up, so when you have so many fear neurotransmitters going on in your brain you may seek a substance to decrease that fear.”

A brain disrupted by substance abuse will never return to what it was before, but it can heal.

“The brain is such a wonderful organ. It’s very neuroplastic, that can produce itself more neurotransmitters given enough time, given treatment, this is how treatment works. Give them enough time for the brain to recreate all this dopamine and all those other neurotransmitters, either through medications, combination of therapy, combination of whatever needs to be put together … that’s the true potential of what the brain can possibly do and that’s what we try to do as treatment providers.”

Former Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson has been the Director of MO HealthNet since 2018. Much of what the Task Force discussed with him was its recommendation from last year that a new state executive be created – what members have tentatively referred to as a “czar” – to oversee substance abuse issues across the various state departments that deal with those.

He said while the idea has merit and could work, giving one figure authority over three, four, and even five departments and asking that person to understand and take on all that is involved in substance abuse issues, could prove too much to ask.

He thinks the effort the Task Force has set in motion should be given time to work.

“I think it is incredibly important that the departments continue to collaborate in this space and make sure that our policies are complimentary of each other … I think that collaboration is better than it has ever been before. While I think the idea behind having somebody to oversee this is the right thinking, I really think the best way to accomplish what you’re trying to accomplish is by trying to continue to encourage that collaboration between those departments.”

To the Task Force’s credit, Richardson said, “I do think the focus that this task force has put on it has already led to more collaboration and coordination and discussion about this subject than I’ve seen in the 15 years I’ve been coming to Jefferson City.”

*Representative Todd Richardson (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Taylor appreciates the different backgrounds brought to the group. A budget-minded legislator himself, Taylor hopes to get more data about Missouri’s substance abuse response.

“Consistently I want to know: what are the programs and how do we measure effectiveness? Is the program actually working? How much have we appropriated for that program and are we spending the money that we appropriate? Let’s at least be honest and up front about how much of that is actually going to get used, how many people are you going to actually hire, and how much of that is going to lapse?”

Some members weren’t present at Monday’s hearing due to technological or medical issues. Black hopes more members will be able to attend in subsequent hearings.

“The more people we have, the more involvement, the more good questions. That would be beneficial, but I’m very happy that the Senate, the House, and the governor’s office are supportive of the continuing work of the task force.”

The Task Force will meet again in July.

Four Year Effort to Stem Veteran Suicide Reaches Governor’s Desk

An effort to decrease the incidence of suicide in Missouri especially among veterans, one that has long been a top priority for one House member, is at last on the governor’s desk.

*Representative Dave Griffith (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

The legislature approved two bills containing Jefferson City Representative Dave Griffith’s (R) plan, one he has proposed for four years. If signed by Governor Mike Parson (R), it require the Missouri Veterans Commission to come up with recommendations on how veteran suicide can be prevented; and to report annually on new recommendations and on the implementation and effectiveness of state efforts.

The standalone version of his bill never received a “no” vote at any step of this year’s legislative process.

In Missouri suicide occurs among the veteran population nearly twice as often as in the rest of the population. Griffith said this effort is all about reducing that rate, ideally to nothing.

“We’re talking about reducing the number of men and women that are killing themselves because of issues they had when they were in the service. To take it even one step further is to be able to go back to when they were in the service and when they came back from the combat zone. When they came back from Afghanistan or came back from Iraq, came back from Somalia or wherever they were, to have an after action sit down with them and say, ‘What happened with you. What did you see, what did you smell, what did you experience while you were there and how’s that impacting you?’

“It takes a while and it takes a relationship with somebody to be able to really get to the core answer that you’re looking for, but that’s where it’s got to begin. It’s got to begin freshly after they come back.”

*Those in need of help, dial 988. Veterans, dial 988 then press 1.*

An already personal quest becomes more personal

Griffith, a U.S. Army veteran, has made veterans’ issues his top priority throughout his time in the House. In dealing with this issue, he has talked to people who have survived suicide and to families of those who have died by suicide. Then last year, one of his close friends died by suicide.

Ever since, he has kept on his Capitol office desk the last letter that friend sent him.

Griffith told this House Communications staffer, “When it happens to [someone you know], you look through a different lens than you ever have before. Somebody you knew, somebody you sat as close as we’re sitting today and talking and had a conversation with, you shared a beer over it and you’re talking about your time in the service or what you did, and then two weeks later they take their own life, and you’re sitting there thinking, ‘I didn’t have a clue.’”

The functional effect of the legislation

A chief function of Griffith’s legislation is to make sure that the data that is gathered about veterans suicide, of which there is a great deal, is compiled and made available to those concerned with the issue.

“We have hearings and we have meetings and we collect data and we collect information, but, where does it go? What do we do with it?” Griffith said. “That next step needs to be taken where we’re getting information out to the American Legion, the VFW, the Marine Corps League, the DAV, we’re getting information out to those organizations where they can start helping those veterans.”

He wants to ensure that that information is being utilized as effectively as possible to improve efforts including outreach, treatment, and even identifying those at risk of suicidal ideation.

“There’s some things you can look at. Your MOS, your military operating service, what you did; how many times you were deployed; where were you deployed; how many times were you in combat; how many times did you receive fire, you felt your life was in danger; where are you from; how old are you? I think there’s some data that … these are things that we need to look for,” Griffith said. “We also need to take into consideration that somebody [who takes their own life] may not have ever been in combat. They may have just been in-theater … just in the surroundings of it, just being in a place where you hear bombs going off, when your building is shook by incoming mortars.”

Griffith is pleased to note that the Veterans Commission has already started implementing some of what the bill requires.

The goal: to help all who need it

Even though the focus of his bill is on veteran suicide, his concern is for suicide and related mental health issues throughout the population.

“When I began this journey four years ago … my hope was, is, that this would be a springboard to conversations outside the veteran community, outside the military community, to one that is really in the civilian population as well.”

He has talked numerous times in the past four years about tragedies that play out too often. Prominent for him is the story of one child from near his district who died by suicide in recent years.

“When you get down to a nine year old in Eugene, Missouri, because he’s being bullied in school, we’ve got a crisis on our hands. They’re taking their lives because they feel like that’s the only thing that’s going to end the pain that they’ve got. The more that we can talk about that pain, the more that we can have teachers that are in schools, counselors that are in schools that are with those kids all the time, a teacher that can see change in one of their students from this jovial, happy go lucky kid that comes in that all of a sudden is very reserved and withdrawn and something’s going on, somewhere along the way a conversation needs to happen with that child. Somebody needs to, whether it’s a teacher or a counselor, or if a teacher calls and talks with their parents, I think we all have to own that to a certain extent.

“My hope was when I filed this bill, we would begin that conversation in the whole community and not just the veteran community.”

Perspective born of experience

Asked whether he wishes a similar focus on mental health had been in place when he was in the military, Griffith thought back to his time in the 8^th Special Forces Group as a Green Beret. Many of the missions he participated in during his service in Vietnam were classified, and that limited how much he could talk to anyone about what he experienced.

“It never really came out as to how did that affect us? What effect did that have on us? It was just really all mission-oriented. At the time, and even now, I understand, because that was what we were there for, was the mission. But, the after-effects, the human side of it, I think so often were not taken into account,” Griffith said.

Especially with the Vietnam War, he said, conflicts awaited soldiers when they returned home.

“People you went to high school with, even inside your own family. My brother protested against the War in Vietnam, and it hurt me. It hurt me terribly, but being able to vocalize a lot of what was going on internally just was not done. Would [my legislation] have helped? Maybe.”

Griffith said he has dealt with his pain by compartmentalizing.

“I can put it in a box and I can close that box up. Occasionally that box opens and I can share some of what’s in there, but most of the time that box stays closed. Not all my friends, not all my brothers can do that. Their box is open all the time and they’re living with that every day, and the nightmares they have and the night sweats they have, and the way they live their life is based on something that happened to them many, many, many years ago. Trying to get some answers to a lot of those questions is something that is a never ending battle but one that we cannot give up on.”

The message this legislation sends

Aside from the functional effects of his legislation, Griffith said the fact that he proposed it and the fact that it has consistently received unanimous support send a message to veterans. He wants them to know that they are valued.

“To the Vietnam veterans I want to say welcome home … you are back home and you are welcome and what you did was not wrong. What you did was in service to your country. For those that experienced trauma in battle, you’ve got to find somebody you can visit with. Somebody you can sit down and talk to. The person you need to sit down and talk to is another veteran.”

For those who care about veterans and others dealing with mental health, Griffith has heard time and time again from experts that societal stigmas are the a large part of what must be overcome. Those struggling are worried about what will happen to them if they seek help.

“Where the tide is going to start to turn is going to be when we start having open conversations. When we don’t fear that we’re going to lose our jobs, we don’t fear that we’re going to be kicked out of the military, we don’t fear that our family’s going to divorce us and get rid of us because we’re flawed in so many ways that try to cover that up with the mask that we wear, that we’re okay. Once we can take off that mask, once we can unveil what’s beneath the surface and we can start to talk about the issues that really are nagging at us every day and what’s causing us not to sleep.”

“We’ve all got mental health issues in some way, shape, or form. We’re not perfect, we’re flawed, but being able to open yourself up and be vulnerable, that’s the hardest thing for somebody to do. Especially a lot or men. A lot of men, who consider themselves to be very macho and strong and all that, for them to show their inner vulnerability to someone is just hard to do.”

*Representatives and veterans Mike Haffner and Dave Griffith (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Most Missourians likely know someone who is struggling with mental health issues, even if they don’t know it. Griffith hopes that though efforts like this legislation, more people will look into what they can do for themselves or for someone else.

“The most important thing that you can do, whether you’re a veteran or whether you’re not, if you encounter someone that is having a crisis or has got suicide ideation, or is feeling that way, the best thing for you to do is not give them advice, but to give them an ear, to sit and listen, and then to tell them, ‘I’m not qualified to really help you through this crisis but I know somebody that is, and I know where you can get that help,’ and if you need to, sit right there with them and dial 988 and put them on the phone.”

Griffith’s proposal reached the governor’s desk as a standalone bill in House Bill 1495, and as part of Senate Bill 912. The governor can choose to sign either or both bills into law, veto them, or allow them to become law without taking action. Griffith anticipates he will sign his proposal into law.

House plan to create mental health courts advancing

A House committee has advanced a plan to create treatment courts in Missouri that would focus on mental health issues, and offer offenders treatment options as an alternative to incarceration. Its bipartisan supporters say it would be a meaningful expansion of the state’s successful treatment courts.

The mental health courts that would be created by House Bill 2064 would be similar to the already existing veteran courts, DWI courts, drug courts, and family treatment courts. In each of those, a defendant must go through a regimen of relevant treatment programs. Those who succeed, or graduate, can avoid prison time or having a crime appear on their record.

“The goal is that they receive treatment to help them overcome, have the tools that they are now aware of, that they’ve experienced, which they have available to them to maintain a lifestyle without the problems that haunted them,” said Representative John Black (R-Marshfield), the bill’s sponsor.

He said this would be a continuation of the existing treatment courts, which are widely viewed as an achievement by Missouri’s legal system and a cost-effective way to avoid incarceration. They allow offenders a chance to remain connected to and active in their communities while working and remaining with families. They are also associated with reductions in crime and the need for foster care, and with ensuring timely payment of child support.

Black noted that perhaps most importantly, “The percentages of those folks who are able to avoid recidivism … with those folks who have actually completed the treatment courts, are very impressive.”

The proposal is one recommendation to come from the Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention Task Force, created under legislation passed in 2019 and chaired by Black. That task force sought to get a handle on what is happening throughout the state of Missouri and across all agencies, to deal with substance abuse issues.

One of its recommendations was to see that existing treatment courts receive more funding, as well as the creation of mental health treatment courts.

Black said among the existing treatment courts there is already a lot of overlap with mental health.

“In fact, it’s called, ‘co-occurring disorder,’ and if put the mental health courts in the statute, specifically, then they’re also available for funding. There are some people who are in jail and have a mental health problem and they’re there for that problem, when in fact it is a co-occurring disorder involving substance abuse. This just allows a more comprehensive treatment.”

Black said such courts would likely rely heavily on counseling that is specific to a given defendant’s circumstances, “and it is a tough program. It’s not something that’s easy. They have to invest a lot of effort in completing the program, so if there was a co-occurring problem – substance abuse would be the most likely – then the persons in that program would be referred not only to mental health professionals but also those folks that could help them with their substance abuse problem.”

The bill has been unanimously endorsed by the House Judiciary Committee, where it was praised by members of both parties. Ranking Democrat Representative Robert Sauls (Independence) said this is a subject that needs more attention.

“I can unequivocally say that we do not do enough to address mental health in this country or this state. I’ve seen it time and time again. I’ve seen it as a prosecutor, as a public defender, I’ve seen situations where people, quite frankly, possibly, wouldn’t have committed crimes if situations were addressed prior to,” Sauls said.

For any who question the effectiveness of the treatment courts Missouri already has, or the desire to expand on them, Black said one need only be present at a graduation. He called them, “inspiring, humbling, you see people who are there fully acknowledging that the program has turned their life around for themselves and their families. They show great gratitude to the elements of the treatment courts, including the prosecutor’s office, they usually organize the effort … it’s one of the things Missouri is doing well.”

911 Dispatchers get ‘First Responder’ status, more mental health help options

Missouri 911 dispatchers will now be considered “first responders” in state statute under legislation that becomes effective next month. That will bring a lot of changes, including increased access to mental health resources.

*Representative Robert Sauls (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Language in two bills signed into law by Governor Mike Parson (R) will add emergency telecommunicators to the definition of “first responders,” which previously included people like firefighters, police, and emergency medical personnel. The change in designation will mean, among other things, that dispatchers will have access to the same mental health supports as those in those other jobs.

Sarah Newell, Polk County 911 Director, says that’s something from which she and others in her field can definitely benefit.

“I hear it every day. I hear it happen. I hear overdoses, I hear suicides, I hear fatality accidents in children. It happens all the time,” Newell told House Communications.

She said a dispatcher’s emotions can be constantly in transition. “We don’t stay consistent. We drop to a one, and then we’re at a nine, and then okay we’re back to a two, and here we are, ten, ten, ten, and so it’s hard for your body to adjust to those heightened adrenaline changes so often throughout the day.”

“Sometimes it’s minute-by-minute,” said Jamie Taylor, President of the Missouri Chapter of the National Emergency Numbers Association (MO NENA). “[A dispatcher] could be on a really serious call with somebody that’s wanting to harm themselves and they’re having to try to talk them down, talk them through it … they could get right off of that call and deliver a baby on the next call.”

Taylor said the proposed re-designation has been considered for years while legislators and state agencies worked to consider what changings it would bring, and how to best implement it, but he said legislators always seemed to favor the change.

Representative Robert Sauls (D-Independence) has proposed such language for several years. In his time as a Jackson County Prosecutor and later as a public defender he listened to a lot of 911 calls.

“Having seen many of the videos and listened to many of these 911 calls, I know they’re stressful, and this is something that should have always been the case. Opening that door for mental health is so important,” said Sauls. “These people are the absolute first point of contact in most instances involving a crime and what could potentially be someone’s worst day of their life. The stress that they undergo, the amount of pressure that’s placed on them at that time, these people absolutely should be treated as first responders.”

Joplin Representative Lane Roberts (R) worked in public service for more than 40 years, including as Joplin’s Police Chief and the state’s Director of Public Safety. He said he even did some dispatching early in his career.

*Representative Lane Roberts (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“Those people, in my mind at least, are the most underappreciated element of public safety there is,” said Roberts. “Everybody sort of takes them for granted. They’re in this windowless environment. Nobody sees them, they don’t get to see anybody, they deal with all the emotion, they deal with all the psychological trauma, but they don’t get to do anything except move on to the next calls. But, when you’re the guy in the field and you get yourself in trouble, that dispatcher’s your lifeline and suddenly they become the single most important person on the planet. There is just no way to express your appreciation for a good dispatcher.”

Taylor said like anyone who has done the job, he has experienced calls that he’ll never forget – the kinds of calls that take a toll.

“The one that really hits me most is during a Christmastime several years ago I took a call on a non-breather who ended up being a newborn … and the outcome wasn’t the outcome that we wanted. The infant didn’t make it. During the holidays, and whenever you have kids of your own, that stuff really starts to set in, and you don’t have an avenue to get rid of those emotions or be able to talk about it or seek help.”

He hopes this change will help to slow what has been a notably high turnover rate in his field.

“Our pool of people that want to do this job is getting smaller and smaller, so we really have to take care of those people that are here doing that job today and to be able to provide for those new people coming in,” said Taylor.

He added that as much as anything, though, it will feel good for dispatchers simply to have this acknowledgement.

“It’s going to be huge for the folks that sit in a dark room or sit behind the scenes and deal with the public off and on, and handling those phone calls, and sometimes those dispatchers don’t get the recognition that they need. I know departments try to recognize them within the department but being recognized by the state, now, as a first responder, it just brings smiles to my face. Finally we get that ‘job well done’ piece that we’ve needed for a long time.”

The change could also create access to grant dollars that could see local agencies expand the latest forms of 911 access in areas of Missouri that don’t have it. Newell and Taylor expressed their thanks to the legislators who worked for so many years on this issue.

That change in designation will take effect August 28.

Dispatchers ask for help dealing with PTSD, seek ‘first responder’ designation

The state’s 911 dispatchers are urging lawmakers to add them to the state’s legal definition of “first responders,” before the legislative session ends. Some of them visited the Capitol to share personal stories illustrating why they need the help in dealing with post-traumatic stress that comes with that designation.

*Representative Chad Perkins (R-Bowling Green) is among the legislators who has carried legislation aimed at extending mental health services to dispatchers.* *(Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

First responders – which state statute currently defines as firefighters, law enforcement personnel, and emergency medical personnel – are afforded mental health resources, and several legislators say those should also be available to dispatchers.

Representative Lane Roberts (R-Joplin) has been Joplin’s Police Chief and the state’s Director of Public Safety, among other things in his career of more than 40 years. Throughout all of that time he worked with dispatchers and even worked as one at times.

“We have always underappreciated these folks. They’re kind of out of sight, out of mind. They work in a windowless environment, but they are the first of the first responders. They’re the gateway to public safety,” said Roberts. “Every time they get an emergency call they get an adrenaline dump just like people who work in the field do. The difference is, the people in the field get to go somewhere, take action, use those chemicals, while the dispatcher will simply move on to the next call, take those chemicals home at night and go to sleep with them and suffer the health consequences.”

Independence representative Robert Sauls (D) was a prosecutor in Jackson County and a public defender.

“As a former prosecutor I would regularly listen to 911 calls and what happens in those circumstances and … often times people are contacting 911 operators on their worst day. Something’s happening, they’re scared, it’s a very stressful situation, and all of these 911 operators are under these stressful environments and the thing of it is, you’ve got to go on to the next one. You’ve gotten your one situation settled, you hang up the phone, and you’ve got another one. I think it’s very important to recognize these people as first responders.”

Polk County 911 Director Sarah Newell said what she and her colleagues do is often dismissed as just answering phones or clerical work.

“It’s not. We are the first point, so how that call goes is dependent on that dispatcher. How fast that call gets put out, what information gets put out, resource allocation and knowing and forward thinking to say, ‘they’re probably going to need an ambulance on standby so let’s go ahead and roll one of those,’ so all things that they have to think about out of the box at any given time.”

J.R. Webb, the Assistant Director of Springfield/Green County 911, said dispatchers, “have to be able to do a lot of things at once. They have to be able to take that phone call, at the same time they’re typing that information into a computer, at the same time that they may be dealing with first responders on the radio. The multitasking is incredible in a busy situation, and it takes a special kind of person to be able to do that. It takes a kind of type ‘A,’ take charge personality to succeed at our job and it’s not meant for everybody.”

The Chair of the State 911 Board of Governance, Alan Wells, said “Post-traumatic stress is a big, big thing for our 911 telecommunicators, and as of right now they do not have a lot of resources there to help with that.”

“Turnover is a big problem, burnout is a big problem that affects this industry, so we hope to be able to give them all the benefits necessary to sustain a good, long-lasting career,” said Wells.

*Representative Robert Sauls also carries legislation intended to include dispatchers in the state’s legal definition of “first responders.” (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

He said it’s not uncommon for dispatchers, especially in the smaller communities throughout Missouri, to know personally the people involved in the incidents they are handling.

“Sometimes it can be very horrifying for those operators,” said Wells. “It may be a loved one, a family member, an immediate family member, or in our case it was one of our own 911 call takers who had just left his shift, headed home on his motorcycle and hit a deer and it was a fatality. The same operators that were just working with him had to take that call and work that incident.”

Hailey Brunner is in her fourth year as a dispatcher at the Cass Co Sheriff’s Office. She remembered one week in which her rotation, “worked seven fatalities, whether it be between an accident, people harming themselves, anything of that nature, natural deaths, anything, and it’s just a wide variety, whether it’s young kids to old kids. My most recent one was a two year-old who died in a fatality car accident.”

Blake Johnson has been dispatching for five years in Green County. He said there is one call he’ll always remember.

“I had taken a call from a family who had lost a child and I can still hear the mom screaming for her kid. It’s absolutely horrible and it makes it worse when you actually know who those people are.”

Newell said, “I have a dispatcher who actually worked a motor vehicle accident. It was a rollover with ejection. There were four juveniles in the vehicle. She took the call and … right before she was ready to dispatch, she realized it was her son in the vehicle.”

Brunner said dispatchers can’t help but imagine the scenes that they are hearing play out over the phone, and that can result in very vivid and very upsetting imagery.

“You’re hearing all of this stuff that’s going on, on the phone. You’re hearing the screams and … they’re painting a picture for you, so you have this picture in your mind of what it looks like and it could be completely the opposite of what they actually see on the scene. It could be better, it could be worse. We never quite know.”

Webb said worse still, dispatchers often get no closure at the end of a call.

“You’re sending folks to help these people that are yelling and screaming at you and in their worst day, then you don’t really know for sure when the other first responders go there, and how this call turned out,” said Webb.

He said an increasing number of suicides in Missouri also directly impacts dispatchers.

“It could be someone, honestly, wanting an audience while they commit suicide. That happens way too much.”

Some call centers, like that at Springfield, have mental health resources that are made available to dispatchers there and in surrounding communities. Such resources aren’t available to all dispatchers in Missouri, though, especially in many smaller communities.

Several bills would address PTSD and mental health resources for dispatchers and other first responders. These dispatchers and lawmakers are among those who hope at least one of those bills is passed before the session’s end on May 12.

‘The Art of Being Me’ tackles mental health stigmas in the Missouri Capitol

Those visiting the Capitol this week will see photos and stories from nearly 30 people living with mental health conditions. Participants in The Art of Being Me hope to inspire others to share their stories, to seek help, and to reduce stigmas surrounding mental health issues.

*The Art of Being Me on display in the Missouri Capitol (Photo: Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)*

The exhibit, mostly found in the Capitol’s third floor Rotunda, features large portraits of each participant next to the text of a portion of their experience. There is also a video that features 3-5 minutes of each participant.

The project is a collaboration between the Burrell Foundation and artist Randy Bacon. Burrell Foundation Executive Director Gabrielle Martin said it began with 22 volunteers and is now up to 27, talking about, “their very raw, very real experiences with mental health, substance use, sometimes suicide; it kind of runs the gamut.”

“I think our youngest is 9 years old and it goes all the way up to a gentleman named Joe who’s in his mid-70s. Every mental health diagnosis, every ethnicity; we wanted it so that anyone who comes in to experience the exhibit will be able to identify with someone or an experience with someone. Maybe it’s not their own mental health journey but someone that they’re supporting or someone that they know.”

The exhibit includes stories like those of Alia, a friend of Martin. She shares not only her own story which began in her youth, but that of supporting her college-age son.

“Her video is really powerful because she actually brought her son with her to it and so you see her sharing all of this really difficult content, and her struggles, and her coping mechanisms through it, with him, and he’s right there with her,” said Martin. “We have some very great youths in there as well. Lincoln and Eli, two boys that share their experience with anxiety, and I believe that one of them does have autism, and we have a young lady, Kate, who shares about her struggle with eating disorders and she is on the recovery side of that … and her video is so powerful.”

*Eli, one of the subjects of The Art of Being Me, on display now in the Missouri Capitol (Photo: Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)*

The Art of Being Me came to the Capitol after several legislators and other elected officials saw it last year at Bacon’s studio in Springfield. After seeing it, some of them requested that it come to the Capitol.

That included Representative John Black (R-Marshfield), who chairs the House’s budget subcommittee on Health, Mental Health, and Social Services. He called the exhibit, “powerful.”

“It’s encouraging, too. Inspirational, actually. A lot of those people have powerful testimonies, how they’ve overcome mental illness to lead productive lives. The fact is, and it’s becoming more and more apparent to everyone, that mental illness is a root cause of many of our societal problems, specifically drug abuse and homelessness. If we can address the mental illness issues then we have a lot better chance of helping people return to [being] productive and happy.”

Another of those legislators is Representative Betsy Fogle (D-Springfield), who said a large part of addressing mental health issues in state policy is removing stigmas surrounding them, and she hopes having that display in the Capitol will help do just that.

“It was beautiful. You had children up to people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s that shared their struggle,” Fogle said of the exhibit. I don’t know a single family in the world that hasn’t been impacted by mental health or substance abuse disorder and it’s about time we start talking about it and doing something in this building to make sure that future families don’t have the same struggles.”

Those featured in The Art of Being Me are at varying points in their own mental health journeys, but Martin said the fact that they were willing to share their own stories is empowering for them as well.

“These individuals were brave and vulnerable enough to share and to talk about their struggles and maybe it is a triumph, maybe it is a continued struggle, maybe it’s talking about their experience with finding therapy and finding ways to cope with maybe a situation that they will live with forever.”

“These photos are not touched up. You can see every pore, every hair, every tear, and we did that intentionally, and the size is intentional, so that when you’re there you’re truly feeling like you are looking through the eyes of these individuals and feeling what they’re feeling.”

Martin adds, “We’re so excited that it’s going to be [in the Capitol] through the 10^th, and we hope that it inspires others and we hope that people want to come forward and share their stories and continue the conversations that we so desperately need to continue sharing and seeking help for.”

House measure aims to boost suicide awareness and prevention, promote 988 Crisis Lifeline

The Missouri House has taken time in the waning days of the session to pass a bipartisan effort to address suicide awareness and prevention.

*Representative Ann Kelley (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

It sent to the Senate House Bill 2136, the “Jason Flatt/Avery Reine Cantor Act,” which would require public schools, charter schools, and public higher education institutions that print pupil identification cards to print on those cards the new three-digit number for the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988.

“988 is going to be our new mental health suicide hotline beginning in July, so this is going to encourage school districts to get that out there to the public so that we can start using that,” explained the bill’s sponsor, Representative Ann Kelley (R-Lamar).

The bill also contains provisions meant to equip and encourage pharmacists to identify possible signs of suicide and respond to them. This includes the “Tricia Leanne Tharp Act,” sponsored by Representative Adam Schwadron (R-St. Charles).

“This would allow the Board of Pharmacy to create two continuing education credit hours for pharmacists to take, to allow them to apply that to their continuing education credits in suicide awareness and prevention,” said Schwadron.

The bill was amended to make sure all pharmacists can participate in that continuing education, regardless of where they work. That change was offered by Representative Patty Lewis (D-Kansas City), who said, “All licensed pharmacists, whether they work inside the four walls of the hospital in an acute care setting or in retail pharmacy [would] have the opportunity to participate in the continuing education to address suicide prevention because there’s such a great need.”

Bolivar representative Mike Stephens (R) is a pharmacist, and said he and others in that profession are well-positioned to be able to identify and work to prevent suicide.

*Representative Patty Lewis (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“I think it’s an important thing for pharmacists at every place along the way to be informed and be a part of this process, be aware. I know in my own personal practice you have intimate contact with patients and you see them during their treatments and there are times that you feel like things aren’t as they ought to be but [you’re] not sure what sort of interventions are appropriate. I think this will be very helpful,” said Stephens.

Similar language will allow teachers and principals to count two hours in suicide-related training toward their continuing education.

The bill advanced to the Senate 142-0 after several members spoke about their own experiences regarding suicide.

Festus Republican Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway told her colleagues that every seven hours someone commits suicide in Missouri. It’s the tenth leading cause of death in the state and the second leading cause among those aged 10 to 34.

“When you think about age 10 all the way up to 34 this is covering all of our children in schools and college when they first get out of school and they’re finding their first jobs or meeting someone and becoming a family, and I think that anything that we can do to bring awareness to this issue is just incredible,” said Buchheit-Courtway. “Mental health awareness is so important to so many of us here.”

Representative Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City) said he knows of a 14 year-old who committed suicide two months ago, just south of the capital city.

*Representative Adam Schwadron (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“He did it because he was being bullied in school and he felt there was no other way out and he couldn’t talk about it. It became very obvious to that community the need for us to be able to talk and have some kind of tools in our hands to be able to prevent these types of tragic events,” said Griffith. “The suicide prevention hotline number, I believe every school will put it on their cards. There’s no reason for them not to do that.”

Representative Rasheen Aldridge, Junior (D-St. Louis) told the body, “One of my good friends in high school, best friend … who is also between that age that the lady talked about, only in 10^th grade, committed suicide … it takes a toll on loved ones, it takes a toll on friends, it takes a toll on people that love that individual and all individuals that have committed suicide.”

The legislation stems partly from the work of the Subcommittee on Mental Health Policy Research, of which Lewis is a member and Buchheit-Courtway is the chairwoman.

The school-related provisions of the bill would take effect in the 2023-24 school year.

Work not done for interim committee on mental health

An interim panel on mental health policy will hold at least two more hearings according to its chairman, who says its members are taking in information like “drinking water out of a firehose.”

Representative Wayne Wallingford (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The committee has already heard issues including that there is a staffing shortfall within the Department of Mental Health, and that Missouri ranks 31st in the U.S. for access to mental health services.

Chairman Wayne Wallingford (R-Cape Girardeau) said after hearing from state organizations in the first hearing and non-profits in the second, the committee will take testimony on November 3 from individuals with experience dealing with mental health issues.

“Either because they’re a guardian for someone or they have a son or a relative affected by that, or maybe even themselves,” said Wallingford.

Wallingford said the committee has drawn a great deal of attention already.

“I thought maybe I could get it done in three meetings,” said Wallingford. “I’ve already got the November 3 meeting full and working on the November 10^th meeting and it’s probably at least a third full already … so it’s generated a lot of interest and that’s good.”

Wallingford anticipates there will be legislation in the 2022 legislative session that will stem from these hearings. He doesn’t have specific bills in mind, but he has his eye on some pilot programs that he feels have been working well in the Columbia area.

“If we can do something to spread that around the state that would be great.”

Wallingford said the committee also heard that law enforcement officers often find themselves sitting at hospital bedsides by those who have been arrested and suffer from mental health issues, until a space in mental health institutions can be found for them.

“If there’s anything we can do legislative-wise to increase the number of beds, that would really, really help.”

The committee will prepare a report before the session begins in January, and from its findings could come more legislative proposals.

House pushes mental health awareness after death of members’ family friend

The sponsor of mental health legislation said that issue hit close to home for her on the day her bill came to the House floor.

Representative Chrissy Sommer (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

St. Charles Republican Chrissy Sommer said that during her drive to the Capitol on Monday she received the tragic news that the mother of her daughter’s best friend had committed suicide.

“You may have noticed I’m a little shaky and nervous, and the reason is because on my way here today I found out that a friend of mind committed suicide, and I’ve been thinking about her a lot,” said Sommer. “It really struck me that this [bill] was pulled up today … because it can affect everyone.”

The House gave initial approval to House Bill 108, which would have Missouri join the federal government in making May “Mental Health Awareness Month,” and in making July “Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.”

“I’m thinking of her and I’m doing this in her honor, and I hope that we will pass it … I don’t mean to get emotional … but I hope that we will pass this not only in her honor but in the honor of everyone who has lost someone to suicide,” said Sommer.

Sommer said untreated mental health contribute to things like unemployment, disability, homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse, and suicide.

“Early identification and treatment of mental illnesses have proven to be vital to any recovery process. Stigma association with mental illness prevents many individuals from seeking the necessary treatment,” said Sommer.

The House heard that there are particular stigmas and disparities within minority communities regarding mental health.

St. Louis Democrat Bruce Franks, who speaks openly about numerous traumas in his life including seeing his brother fatally shot when they were both children, said he has contemplated suicide in the past. He said there is a stigma in the African American community about getting help and what “mental health” is.”

Representative Bruce Franks (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“I talk on the floor about the funerals I’ve gone through and some of the things that I’ve seen, and even a couple of my Republican colleague friends on the other side have been to my district to see some of these traumatic things, so just imagine when folks are going through this each and every day and it plays on you mentally and you never get the help that you need because the people in your community and society sees this as a stigma,” said Franks.

Franks said the legislation is “very important, and it’s not just about an awareness month. It’s about education and empowering people to let them know it’s okay to not be okay but it’s okay to seek help.”

Jefferson City Republican Dave Griffith said he hopes raising awareness will cause more struggling veterans to get help.

“Many of you may not have heard ‘hashtag-22.’ Hashtag-22 stands for the 22 veterans that commit suicide every day. It is for real. These men and women are suffering from PTSD and from many other mental illnesses and having a day or a month that we can recognize them is something that I stand for,” said Griffith.

“The perception of mental illness won’t change unless we act on it, and one way to do this is for us in Missouri to enact the Mental Health Awareness Month,” said Sommer.

With the House’s action on Monday, one more favorable vote would send HB 108 to the Senate.