There’s a new voice advocating for mental health at the Capitol and throughout Minnesota

Marcus Schmit remembers his reaction when he heard that Sue Abderholden the longtime executive director of NAMI Minnesota decided to step down I thought I feel sorry for whoever s going to follow Sue he revealed Throughout Abderholden s -year tenure she built a reputation as a tireless and effective advocate for Minnesotans with mental illness Her successor Schmit figured would need just the right combination of commitment and experience to keep the organization moving forward Then a recruiter called At the time Schmit was the executive director of Hearth Connection a Twin Cities-based nonprofit that advocates for people experiencing homelessness He decided to take a deep breath and apply My background is in residents function he explained detailing a career as a congressional aide for now-Gov Tim Walz an assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the director of advocacy for Second Harvest Heartland The through line through all of this is mental healthcare Maybe I m just who they need NAMI s board of directors agreed This fall they named Schmit their next executive director Mental robustness insiders say he was a relatively low-profile pick but that suits them fine I m terribly excited that he s coming from housing an area where there s a huge void for people with serious mental illness reported Mindy Greiling a former state legislator and the president of NAMI Roseville Everyone I know who knows him speaks well of him This change feels positive declared Jode Freyholtz-London executive director of Wellness in the Woods a nonprofit dedicated to improving access to mental wellness and substance use recovery services in underserved areas of the state Related I m ready NAMI director Sue Abderholden longtime advocate for Minnesotans with mental illness is stepping down Just a scarce weeks into the role Schmit announced he s feeling good about the strength of NAMI s staff and the organization s place in the society Still he knows there will be a few turbulence amid the changes I bring my own style and my own set of experiences he stated I think that transition and new perspectives are really really healthy for organizations and good for the work Bipartisan ambitions and a statewide reach Schmit credits Abderholden and NAMI colleagues with establishing the importance of mental wellness among Minnesota s lawmakers And I know it will continue to get that attention because it impacts everybody he declared Largely bipartisan sponsorship for good mental physical condition program has led to important legislative advancements Schmit promises to continue to promote collaboration amid political division In specific methods maybe mental robustness is the last bipartisan issue he commented And I take that really seriously Schmit a Red Wing native revealed he is interested in further expanding the organization s reach into Greater Minnesota Where I see a lot of value is really returning to our roots What I mean by that is getting back to communities One of the things that NAMI has done well and I have experience doing is getting into communities getting out of St Paul and maintaining and building those relationships where the politics aren t as hot He is also eager to help the mental strength workforce including care professionals in group homes It s already challenging work he stated adding that providers are often overworked and underpaid We ve seen a mass exodus in direct-service providers particularly in Greater Minnesota Schmit announced Even in the face of an uncertain financial market those jobs have remained hard to fill He hopes to pressure lawmakers to improve pay and working conditions for direct-care mental medical staff I think that s an issue that everybody at the legislature should care about Speaking out finding help A personal connection to mental illness also drew Schmit to NAMI For majority of his life Schmit stated he struggled with intense mood swings but never sought medication choosing instead to power through rough periods and chalking up even the toughest situations to stress or hard transitions Apparently since high school early college I ve dependably been dealing with what felt like a roller-coaster something that s unpredictable he declared He assumed everyone felt extreme emotions but just didn t talk about them There were times when mood swings consumed his life How it manifested itself for me was this period of a lot of ability of intense productivity Schmit reported It could be hours of not sleeping I d be reading books getting homework done Sometimes Schmit an athlete channeled those intensely energetic emotions into periods of excessive exercise The manic periods would be followed by really intense lows he mentioned They wouldn t last super long sometimes a day sometimes a insufficient days But even as he took note of his emotional cycles Schmit kept them to himself As he aged Schmit noticed a change These events happened more frequently and they were just more intense Two years ago it eventually hit me I knew I needed help I remember pulling over on the side of the road on my way to work one day and I was just paralyzed I called my wife and explained her I needed help With his wife s encouragement he began taking his condition seriously She was the one who gave me the confidence to reach out get connected to a therapist and explore conversations with my primary doc about What is this Schmit explained A determination of cyclothymia a mild form of bipolar disorder followed along with medication and therapy I wish I would ve done this years ago Schmit reported It s totally changed my life and made me so much more confident and content with myself It s made me a better partner dad and friend Related For years this Minneapolis center has been making life more livable for people with severe mental illness While Schmit disclosed his personal journey with mental illness helped prepare him to lead NAMI at first he felt uncomfortable speaking out about his finding It s something I ve wrestled with over the last couple of months coming to a place where I m settled talking about it But as someone in a leadership role he decided it was especially significant to share his story I feel like I need and want to use the platform to share my experience to invite more people into the conversation to get the help they need that will really change their lives and to encourage people around them to help them get that help he disclosed Schmit described his NAMI colleagues about his determination at a organization meeting on his first day Others came forward to share their stories too Their response was so uplifting he revealed A serial optimist In the face of budget cuts political infighting and changes to key federal benefit programs hope can be hard to find for people who care about mental wellbeing But Schmit explained that in his first minimal weeks on the job he s uncovered bright spots I m a serial optimist he revealed It s fundamental for me as I steward this unit through this new transition to do my best to set a positive tone The work is hard enough One reason for hope Schmit mentioned is the strong reputation that NAMI has built at the Capitol He is optimistic that alliances forged around mental robustness rule will continue He also commended NAMI s committed organization of humans who are driven by the mission various with their own experience with mental illness for their work to advance advocacy groups educational activities and locality connections statewide More and more people like me are sharing their story Schmit reported People like me are raising kids who are going to see that Dad got help or my aunt got help or my friend got help People are continuing to encourage their loved ones to get the help they need All of that gives me hope I don t know how it couldn t The conversation around mental robustness and mental illness continues to head in the right direction The post There s a new voice advocating for mental strength at the Capitol and throughout Minnesota appeared first on MinnPost