Every time a mass shooting happens, Florida politicians cry crocodile tears about the mental health crisis and then proceed to keep doing what they were already doing. Crime and mental health crises aren’t weather, they don’t just happen out of thin air, and there’s real steps we can take to address and prevent them. We can be safer, we can be healthier, and we can save money on bloated police budgets and give that back to you, the taxpayer.
I will fight for proper funding to mobile crisis intervention teams, mental health professionals paired with specially trained responders, as the default response to mental health calls in Florida, so a crisis doesn’t automatically end in an arrest or an ER visit.
I will add oversight and due-process safeguards to the Baker Act process to reduce inappropriate or overused involuntary holds.
I’ll properly enforce Florida’s mental health parity law so insurers can’t impose stricter limits or higher costs on mental health and substance-use treatment than they do on physical health care.
We must create an incentive to go into medical fields that answer mental health calls. I will create loan forgiveness programs for mental health professionals who commit to practicing in underserved communities. It is time we took care of our constituents.
By pushing to fully fund crisis stabilization it expands stabilization units and mobile crisis teams so a 988 call has somewhere real to send someone besides an emergency room or jail cell. Expanding the workforce for more available persons on the scene of a crisis.
We must make sure that when our children are at their most emotionally and mentally unstable that we meet their needs. I will propose legislation that funds councilors and school based mental health staffing ratios so kids in crisis are identified and supported before it becomes a disciplinary or criminal matter.