What I learned this week
Max died on his 16th birthday. The bullying and depression were too much to take. Hundreds gathered to remember his kindness and grieve his loss.
Max’s mom had delivered both our children and was there for us for the baby we lost. She is a remarkable person. I’m sorry that I didn’t know Max better.
I’ve read the tributes to Max. I’ve seen the pictures of his radiant smile. I’m thankful for the lives that he will now save because he was an organ donor.
Kindness to the Max.
Dammit.
There is much, much, much more that needs to be done in our communities. Two weeks after Max died, I found myself moderating a panel at the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Iowa 2023 Annual Conference in Des Moines.
I thought about bullies. I hoped (naively?) that some bullies don’t realize the pain that they cause. I thought about Max and all that he endured. And I thought about his family.
I asked the three legislators a series of questions over the hour we shared with the audience. What’s working with our state’s commitment to support people living with mental health challenges? What else do we need to do? What needs to change?
Here’s what I learned:
There still aren’t nearly enough beds for Iowans living with mental health challenges.
There still aren’t enough staff members across the state to work in the facilities.
There still aren’t enough facilities.
The reimbursement rate paid my Medicaid is still far too low for providers.
There is still not enough emphasis by state and federal legislators to improve services.
There is still not enough support in schools for students with mental health needs.
Smaller communities still have even more difficulty providing necessary services.
But here is what I also learned. There are lawmakers in both major political parties in Iowa who are committed to change.
Ann Meyer, an Iowa house Republican from Fort Dodge; Megan Srinivas, a house Democrat from Des Moines and Sarah Trone Garriott, a senate Democrat from West Des Moines sat together on that panel that I moderated. They don’t all have the same ideas on how to make the system better. But they all expressed their determination to make something positive happen during this next legislative session.
With Republicans in overwhelming majority control of both the Iowa house and senate, it will be Meyer’s caucus that will ultimately decide what will change.
Improvements are happening. Telehealth is helping to provide a quicker response and to offer support to more people in need. More communities are training law enforcement to better respond to emergencies when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis. School districts may share mental health counselors so more students can have access. Workers are getting paid more. More people are talking about this.
Yes, there is progress. No, it’s not nearly enough. Still.
It will take money. It will take commitment. It will take local leaders working together…and state leaders…and national leaders. It will take all of us.
One other thing takes no money at all. It’s completely free, actually. Don’t troll. Don’t discriminate. Don’t bully. Don’t tolerate anyone else doing any of those things either.
Better mental health care. No more bullying. Kindness to the Max.
WHAT ELSE I LEARNED THIS WEEK…
—Enough is enough, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds decided. She isn’t supporting Donald Trump in the Iowa GOP Caucuses. She’s tired of the drama and she doesn’t believe that he can win the general election, she told me. Reynolds endorsed one of Trump’s challengers, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, instead. He can win, she said.
Will any other top Iowa Republicans now follow her lead?
Watch my full interview with Governor Reynolds here.
—I didn’t grow up on a farm, so my new role as editor at the American Farmland Owner has been fascinating as I deepen my knowledge about agriculture. One thing that I learned this week was about the struggles of walnut producers. Supply went up. Prices went down. Smaller producers, in particular, suffered. Some of those producers found a solution: tomatoes.
(I write this column as one of the independent journalists who are part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Longtime Iowa journalist Doug Burns has a new column introducing us to a new Republican presidential candidate.
Check out the rest of the Iowa Writers Collaborative members and their most recent columns here.
Paid subscribers can find out what I learned in the third GOP presidential debate.