Michelle Bowman: “I thank Representative Jackson for his leadership on this very important issue. Mr. Speaker, prior to coming to…”

“I thank Representative Jackson for his leadership on this very important issue. Mr. Speaker, prior to coming to Congress, I worked in education for 20 years. I started my career as an elementary school teacher in the South Bronx before becoming a high school dean of students and guidance counselor and before having the privilege of opening my own school and running it as a middle school principal for 10\1/2\ years. The year before I decided to run for Congress, 34 children died within the K-12 school system in the Bronx, and 17 died via suicide. No one was making the connection between these horrible outcomes for our children and families with the historical neglect and trauma of their communities and the policies that come not just from local government or State government but also from the Federal Government. As mentioned by Chairman Horsford, it is incredibly difficult to access mental health resources in historically marginalized communities because of historical underfunding and historical neglect. It is tremendously urgent and incumbent upon us here in the House of Representatives to pass transformational, revolutionary legislation as it relates to supporting the mental health of every single person in our country.…”