WEBVTT 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:15.939 Now, what do you really want? Congress to 00:00:15.949 --> 00:00:20.079 do and focus and prioritize in order to help young 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:22.929 people get the attention and help they need? Well 00:00:22.929 --> 00:00:25.929 before those 11 years average, it takes to get 00:00:25.929 --> 00:00:29.969 mental health assistance, like you can't necessarily legislate your 00:00:29.969 --> 00:00:32.030 way out of stigma. That's a cultural change we 00:00:32.030 --> 00:00:34.000 all have to play a role in. But where 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:37.469 Congress can make a big difference Is in focusing on 00:00:37.469 --> 00:00:41.280 expanding access to treatment, making sure that we are 00:00:41.289 --> 00:00:44.619 integrating primary care with mental health services, that we're 00:00:44.619 --> 00:00:48.630 expanding our pipeline for health mental health professionals. And 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:50.920 we're doing that in a diverse way because right now 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:55.399 only 2% of the 40 1000 psychiatrists in our country 00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:56.979 are black, for example, which is just a 00:00:56.979 --> 00:01:00.020 reflection of the lack of diversity we have in our 00:01:00.020 --> 00:01:03.390 mental health workforce and that has direct implications for providing 00:01:03.390 --> 00:01:04.939 care. But lastly, you know, Congress can 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:07.340 play a role in investing on the prevention side as 00:01:07.340 --> 00:01:10.879 well. We actually know from the data that people 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:11.700 who are struggling with mental illness and you know, 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:15.040 who are people of color are often less likely to 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:18.379 go and seek out help even if that help is 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:19.629 available to them. So that sigma really matters. 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:23.489 We've got to recognize that to close the equity gap 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:26.549 . We also have to measure, uh, you 00:01:26.549 --> 00:01:27.450 know, how we're doing. We've got to track 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:30.049 , you know, whether people have equitable access right 00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:32.549 now and if they don't, and they don't right 00:01:32.549 --> 00:01:34.620 now, how do we make sure that we are 00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:37.760 holding ourselves accountable to make sure we're making progress. 00:01:37.769 --> 00:01:38.810 Well, let's stick with that threat of equity and 00:01:38.810 --> 00:01:41.370 talk a little bit about mask. You know, 00:01:41.370 --> 00:01:44.920 you we're speaking before the committee about the eventual rollback 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:47.730 of mask mandates and you know, light at the 00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:49.200 end of the tunnel. But you know why now 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:52.340 the general sort of a view of this, I 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:53.219 think is that as the pandemic gets better, we 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:57.200 should be pulling back on restrictions. The conversation now 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:00.280 is about what should determine when that happens. And 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:04.120 it's likely going to be some combination of the hospitalization 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.120 rate, Our hospital capacity itself, which is about 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.629 healthcare staffing About the death rate and also just about 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:12.400 where we're going in terms of cases, are we 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.319 on the rise or are we on the decline? 00:02:14.330 --> 00:02:16.159 Um, this is actually the evaluation the CDC is 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:19.500 doing right now. Can you see a near future 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:22.580 where Americans won't have to wear masks. Are we 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:27.120 talking this summer or the end of 2022? I 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:29.900 can imagine that future. Um, I can't tell 00:02:29.900 --> 00:02:30.770 you if it's coming in a couple of months or 00:02:30.770 --> 00:02:32.680 in six months or in 12 months. I can't 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:35.199 tell you exactly. But what I can tell you 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:37.800 is that to live that future. We are going 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:38.669 to need the tools that we've been building over the 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:42.199 last year. We're gonna need readily available vaccines and 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:44.379 therapeutics. And we're well on the way to having 00:02:44.379 --> 00:02:46.550 the supply of therapeutics we need. We're gonna need 00:02:46.550 --> 00:02:49.159 those freely available, high quality masks and tests, 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:52.319 and we're gonna also need the right mindset, recognizing 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:53.860 that Covid is not going to disappear overnight. We 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:57.229 may see waves of old or new variants, but 00:02:57.229 --> 00:02:59.430 if we have these tools, if we're using them 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:01.159 well, particularly our vaccines and boosters, we can 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:05.020 protect the vast, vast majority of people from hospitalizations 00:03:05.020 --> 00:03:05.490 and deaths.