Guest Opinion | Jed Leano, Candidate for Assembly: Talk is Cheap on Mental Health; Find the Doers

U.S. mental health services have always been extremely important, remarkably complicated and woefully underfunded.

COVID-19 amplified all three of these truths, bringing the nation to its breaking point in terms of how it assesses and addresses not just mental health struggles but their comprehensive treatment and the safety nets needed to give sufferers their best chances of thriving against the odds.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents to Stress in America™ 2023, a nationwide survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA), said they have a diagnosed mental health condition. This represents a 5 percentage-point increase from 2019.

In California, we find ourselves on the precipice of the largest overhaul of mental health delivery in state history, and with it comes the opportunity to choose the dedicated, capable leaders this transformational point-in-time requires.

On March 5, California voters will consider Proposition 1, a two-pronged ballot measure that would direct $6.4 billion in bond funding to address the state’s critical shortage of both treatment beds and permanent supportive housing. It also mandates counties spend a larger portion of existing mental health funds on serving chronically homeless people.

Should Prop 1 pass – placing a major emphasis on housing and expanding the number of people eligible for services – we will need informed leaders who can navigate the next steps of policy implementation. I want to implore California voters to use the next eight months to judiciously research candidates’ actions on mental health issues and not just their words.

In turn, we have a chance in November to ensure the decision-makers we elect are not just informed and passionate but capable of shepherding this pivotal mental health care overhaul from conception to practice.

Politics is full of candidates who say mental health is a campaign priority, but voters must decide if the actions of the politicians they support actually reflect their talking points. Ask yourself, “Have they lifted a finger or done an ounce of work to improve mental health services in their communities?”

Scour those campaign websites and, no doubt, you’ll find a bullet point championing improved mental health care, but have they worked in the expansive field in any capacity? Have they drafted or co-sponsored mental health-centric legislation? Are they familiar with the programs working 24/7 within their own communities to improve mental health outcomes while continually being told to do more with less?

From mental health care budgets and eligibility requirements to the volume and nature of services being provided, we can expect a sea of changes in the next four years, so now is not the time to elect talkers.

It’s time to elect the doers.

I’ve been a city council member for a small California city for six years and instituted groundbreaking mental health programming that helped nearly halve local homelessness by my second year in office.

As board chairman of the Tri-City Mental Health Authority, I oversee more than 200 full-time employees providing mental health services to roughly 200,000 residents across the cities of Pomona, La Verne and Claremont. I run the agency, so I know firsthand the staffing challenges involved, and I develop the programming that is our only line of defense against this major health crisis.

I’m hopeful that after those November ballots are cast, I’ll be a member of the California Assembly who (1) understands the services being delivered by local mental health agencies and (2) recognizes exactly how much more challenging it will be to continue delivering those services while simultaneously addressing an affordable housing budget and programming shift..

Despite decades of treatment gains, mental illness remains publicly stigmatized, especially when it co-occurs with poverty and housing instability. That collective inclination to ostracize and isolate those who are mentally ill only invigorates my drive to establish robust programming and initiate partnerships to better serve those being “othered” for needing help.

The simple fact is that we all face a moral imperative to address suffering, and now is the time for action, not talk.

Jed Leano, an immigration attorney and second-term Claremont City Councilmember, is board chairman of the Tri-City Mental Health Authority representing Pomona, La Verne and Claremont. He is also campaigning to represent Dist. 41 in the California State Assembly.