What an Honor it Was to Sit Down and Talk Mental Health with the Former President of the NACCP, Ben

Earlier this year when I watched Ben Jealous, former president of the NACCP on PBS's Finding Your Roots I couldn't have imagined that months later I'd be sitting at the table with him in My office drinking coffee and talking mental health.

Jealous is running for Governor of Maryland, where I reside and during Mental Health Awareness month, we had the opportunity to discuss his plans for Maryland's mental health legislation should he win the election in November.

I won't say that I agree with all of the democratic policies and practices that have affected Maryland, but I will say it's refreshing to hear a candidate include mental health awareness and treatment as a key component of their campaign. Amid the constant lobbying, not much is said about providing for people with mental health issues.

In fact with the presidents administration making it easier for insurance companies to deny coverage to those of us with pre-existing conditions, we desperately need people in office who care about seeing proper health care resources and funding allocated throughout Maryland.

While lobbying with NAMI for advocacy day on Capitol Hill, we learned that in this year's budget, mental health dollars were rerouted to help fight the opiod crisis, classifying opiod addiction as a symptom of mental illness now that it's become an epidemic among whites.

Jealous came to Baltimore and met with Myself and two of My coaching clients, both nurses to discuss mental health legislation and issues in Maryland. Check out the video of our discussion below: