Part 1 Leslie's Advocacy Journey In January, we asked Leslie Carpenter to share with us her experience of advocating for an SMI platform in Iowa during the 2020 democratic primary. We have turned her words in to a 3-part series, we hope you enjoy her story just as much as we do. Part 1 Living in Iowa has allowed my husband, Scott, and I the ability to advocate with most of the many presidential candidates over the past two years, to encourage them to come out with Mental Health Plans that incorporate substantive polices that would help to improve the treatment of people with serious brain disorders like Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective and Bipolar Disorders. But, truly, our story began long before two years ago. Our son began getting sick in 2008, and over the years since then, he has had the typical progression for someone with an illness that evolves to be a Schizoaffective Disorder. It was episodic, with lots of really difficult times for him and our family, with occasional reprieves that I sometimes believed indicated that he had a chance for living a more normal life with less suffering. One of those times was in the late summer & fall of 2015, shortly after we had attended our local NAMI affiliate’s Family to Family class. During the advocacy class, they showed us a speech that Pete Earley gave some years prior while visiting Iowa City. As I sat listening and watching him, I found myself both crying and enraged. It helped me to see so many more parts of the system that were broken, and some of the history that led us into the mental health crisis. It lit a fire in me that has only grown more intense as I have learned even more. Pretty soon, it consumed me more and more, to the point that I am compelled to fix this broken system. Our son had significant side-effects of Clozaril and after much pleading, we eventually got the doctors to lower his dose, since it wasn’t helping with the voices and delusions anyway. Eventually, he was switched to another medication, Saphris, which combined with Lithium, brought the son we knew back to us. It seemed like a wonderful cure and he was able to live independently in his apartment, work at a part time job and drive. During this time of hope and reprieve, we began volunteering with the Hillary Clinton campaign, and began advocating with her by giving her progressive written messaging. (Sadly, our son’s illness severely worsened in the spring of 2016 and he didn’t improve much until September, and finally they doctors and judge decided to do a civil court order for a residential treatment facility after he “failed” one last attempt to live in an apartment.) We didn’t know as much then, but we soon found that by showing up repeatedly at her events, and events with former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, we were able to at least provide the written messaging. Scott spoke with her at another event and began asking questions publicly when the events provided that opportunity. Secretary Clinton sent a wonderful letter to us, and eventually did come out with a Mental Health plan. Now, it didn’t have a lot of specific policy for those with SMI, but it was a start. And, we didn’t know as much back then in 2015 as we do now in 2020. Well, we all know that she didn’t end up being president, so some might feel we wasted our time. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. Instead, while attending all these events, we began meeting more of our local and state elected officials, and from there, and other work in Iowa, we have established wonderful relationships with them. During the 2018 Iowa Gubernatorial primary and election, we advocated with all the democratic candidates and volunteered for the democratic nominee, Fred Hubbell. In addition, we were working on improving the Commitment Law here in Iowa, with help from the Treatment Advocacy Center. We were able to get our bill attached to a much larger bill, the Complex Needs Mental Health Bill that had a lot of political momentum, and within just a few months, our bill became law! We advocated at the Capitol, speaking with both democratic and republican legislators here in Iowa. During all this time, we continued to establish and build relationships with more legislators, here in Iowa, which has led to more advocacy opportunities.  During the 2018 pre-election season, several national legislators came to Iowa to help fundraise and campaign for people running for office at that time. We would meet them, advocate with them, and give them information about ending the IMD exclusion. (Senator Cory Booker, Representative Eric Swalwell, Secretary Julian Castro, and Governor Steve Bullock). When the Presidential Campaign began in earnest, the candidates began visiting Iowa, and the number of events was much greater than during the 2015 pre-caucus campaign, due to the significant increase in the number of candidates. Part 2 will be out Wednesday This is not a fight that can be done alone, we couldn't do it without your support. Please considering donating today. Donate Treatment Advocacy Center | 200 N Glebe Rd, Ste 801, Arlington, VA 22203 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!