By Amanda Goheen and Scott Wuerch
It has been a busy month for the Mental Health Task Force, as our legislative advocacy for the last nine months has come to a culmination. We have planned and participated in three events in hopes to shift funding towards multiple programs to support mental health. Two of the events were on the state level and one was local.
Madison Action Day
On April 23rd, the five members of the Mental Health Task Force filled a bus heading down to Madison for Madison Action Day.
Madison Action Day is an opportunity for all of the supporting organizations of WISDOM to go to Madison and work with their legislators and staff on issues that are important on both a state and a local level. About 500 volunteers showed up in Madison on that day to meet with their legislators and hold a rally on the steps of the Capitol.
The day started with a rally at the Masonic Temple just outside of the Capitol where two of our Task Force members, Amanda Goheen and Scott Wuerch, had an opportunity to speak to the entire group on the importance and cost of fixing issues relating to mental health that the state has failed to address in previous budgets.
“I thought it was awesome to see so many people gathered to talk about how important these issues are to us in the state of Wisconsin,” says Goheen. “People aren’t typically used to seeing people like me in a wheelchair and dealing with mental health challenges talking about how important it is to keep Medicaid and funding for mental health treatment as an important part of the budget in the State of Wisconsin.”
From there, the participants walked to the capitol steps to listen to speakers who provided great information that we could take to our legislators. After the rally on the steps, the attendees broke into their teams and spent the rest of the day meeting with their legislators.
“Several of the legislators felt it was eye-opening to see how their proposals on these issues have affected the real people in their district,” said Goheen.
The trip back to Eau Claire was packed with talk about the meetings we had and how we all hoped it would change how the legislative session and the budget would play out.
Eau Claire Mental Health Day of Action and Care
On Friday May 23rd the JONAH Mental Health Task Force Team held their very first Mental Health Day of Action and Care in Eau Claire.
The event started with a press conference where several task force members spoke to legislators and government officials about the importance of mental health to the community and to individuals, and asking for support in various state budget areas.
Also speaking at the press event, with a strong commitment to mental health support, was Senator Jesse James and Representative Christian Phelps. Both state legislators spoke about the importance of increasing funding at a state level for mental health for the citizens of Wisconsin. The press conference received coverage on both WEAU and WQOW, and got a rather large article on the online version of the Leader Telegram.
From there, the events moved to Phoenix Park where resource providers had booths set up and we had planned hourly self-care sessions for those present. There were a number of people who came and spoke with the resource providers and participated in the mental health action sessions.
“We heard so much support from the community for holding an event so public that spoke to the urgency of the need for mental health support, especially if they weren’t able to attend – just knowing we were there felt validating for them. That felt great to know it mattered so much to people,” said Lynn Buske, the Mental Health Task Force chair. “At the event we asked people present to share what they need, and the largest response was EMPATHY. It is clear this event was needed.”
The evening culminated with a rally In Phoenix Park, with speakers telling vulnerable stories promoting specific mental health needs and the importance of taking care of ourselves. We then all grabbed signs and took a walk over the Madison Street Bridge, calling attention to the importance of mental health and mental health funding.
It was a great day, and we look forward to even more participation and more resource providers at next year’s event – we’ve already started planning!
Joint Statewide Lobby Day
When JONAH was asked to join a last big effort to urge legislators to invest in issues that affect our community members, particularly those most struggling, alongside several other organizations to show solidarity (Citizen Action, WISDOM, Wisconsin Education Network, Planned Parenthood, Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed, and a number of Teachers Leagues from across the state). Many of us were excited to go and add our voices to this collaboration.
The goal of the day was to encourage Governor Evers to veto any budget that did not include funding for our schools, childcare, and Medicaid expansion, and avoided building new prisons. Medicaid expansion would be huge for those struggling with chronic mental health conditions.
Unfortunately, some of the task force members that really wanted to go were unable to attend due to work commitments and health emergencies. Our chair (and JONAH’s organizer) Lynn went for us.
“Every time I speak with a legislator about an issue that reveals they didn’t previously know about the information I’ve shared, the more it inspires me to encourage others to speak with their legislators. I did my best to represent our task force members, and now the state budget – and people’s mental health care in Wisconsin (among all the other issues JONAH fights for) are in the hands of our legislators, the Joint Finance Committee, and our Governor. I hope they make decisions based on what is best for ALL of us.”
Learnings
We have learned that if we want to see changes in how mental health is supported in our state and community, we have to use our lived experiences stories and professional gifts to organize and advocate diligently. If Mental Health issues are important to you we would love to have you come join our task force as we work toward better mental health care in the State of Wisconsin.