RADIO TRANSCRIPT
May 15, 2023
Brandi Silver

This is Brandi Silver, FCS agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke Center.  Our program today will give you suggestions to be an advocate for policies that support families and individuals struggling with mental illness.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness has a website devoted to specific calls to action.  There are petitions to sign, places to share your stories of how mental health has affected you and your family, ways to influence policy makers and show support for more mental health in schools. Another section allows you to share information about how insurance coverage has helped with mental health treatments or challenges you’ve experienced.

Sharing this information arms the alliance with real stories from voters to advocate for consumer protections, encourage policy makers to invest in research for mental health conditions and reimagine the communities’ response to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

The last call to action I will mention is one we all can contribute to from personal experience.  Covid-19 affected all of us.  NAMI wants to collect your story or the stories of the children in your lives.  I hope you will take action and become a part of building better lives for millions of Americans. There will be a direct link to NAMI’s act now page on the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke County Center website. I also have a mental health coloring book to help open up the conversation surrounding mental health with your kids.  Stop by the Extension office to pick one up.

This has been Brandi Silver with the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke Center reminding you that your voice matters, so take action!  For more information, contact us 764-9480.