Legislative District 46

Everyone wants to and should feel safe in their communities. I’ve seen the 46th district change tremendously over the years and both housed and houseless neighbors feel unsafe. When community members have what they need to not only survive, but to thrive, we all do better. Increasing public safety starts with providing care the moment it's needed, supporting crisis behavioral health professionals, affordable and accessible low-barrier housing, and reducing the scope of work of law enforcement. We are experiencing serious workforce shortages across the board and especially when it comes to behavioral health care professionals. As a result, we’ve tried to plug holes by having law enforcement respond to crisis. This isn’t working for anyone.

Police are trained to respond to crimes and detain individuals, not to provide a trauma-informed approach to a person in crisis. To be clear- there are still times when law enforcement must be involved in a behavioral health crisis and they should show up to support in these moments. But to support law enforcement and increase public safety we need to reduce their scope of work and bolster our behavioral health crisis system which starts with supporting the workforce.

Public safety includes police accountability. I’m proud to have stood with families who have lost loved ones to police violence as part of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability. I’m proud to be endorsed by police accountability champion Representative Jesse Johnson and Katrina Johnson, the cousin of Charleena Lyles. I stood with families to pass 1310, through the misinformation campaign that law enforcement created, and through all the rollbacks. I’m proud to say I’ve been chosen to serve as a founding board member for the Washington State Coalition for Police Accountability as we become a non-profit organization.

Law enforcement, just like civilians in other sectors, must be held accountable for the training they receive, actions they take, and any lives they take. As your Representative I will continue this work alongside family and community members who have lost their loved ones to police violence.

I believe progress is measured by

● Fewer deaths by law enforcement

● Fewer reasons for law enforcement to use force

● Fewer people with disabilities, black, and brown people pulled into the criminal legal system

● Marginalized communities feeling safe to call for emergency help

● Marginalized communities receiving help without dying or being unjustly incarcerated

● Individuals and families feeling safe to enjoy their communities and safe in their homes

● Individuals having access to readily available resources (e.g. food, housing, etc.)

As a state legislator, I would prioritize the intersection of behavioral health, housing and homelessness, and the criminal legal system. I live in the Lake City neighborhood, a lower-income community of color, where you can’t go anywhere without being directly confronted by the behavioral health and housing crisis. Over 40% of people experiencing homelessness have a disability, many a behavioral health disability. In Washington State, our lack of a behavioral health system drives people with serious psychiatric disabilities into the revolving door of homelessness, crisis, incarceration, and institutionalization.

Our current system misses the mark because it focuses on providing care only when someone meets criteria for involuntary treatment. This is a fine line to walk, and many tip over this line into the criminal legal system during crisis. Involuntary commitment was designed to be a last resort, not the cornerstone of our behavioral health system yet our current system is centered around it. This is the work I know best as Public Policy Director at Disability Rights Washington and as part of the Trueblood Court Monitor’s Diversion Team. I’ve spent the last several years overseeing 12 different diversion programs across the state which do just this, provide help as soon as help is needed. I’m proud to say these programs are doing well enough that they just recently received funding from the state legislature to keep them running. In the House, I would continue to do this work, and redirect our focus from involuntary services and criminal legal investments to community-based programs that intervene as soon as individuals need help – not after it's too late.

In my day job, I advocate for a behavioral health system with true choice that intervenes at the earliest possible point, for many this starts in grade school. And, if elected, I will use my platform to elevate the urgency of this work. Washington State wastes millions of dollars waiting for people to reach a crisis level of care before providing treatment. We can save money and lives by providing low-barrier accessible housing, addressing basic needs, and a full spectrum of care for our residents.

To create meaningful access and treatment options, we need leaders who understand how individuals accessing resources interact with, and rely on, public service systems. I will work for a system that supports individuals with a variety of behavioral health needs, including culturally relevant and LGBTQIA+ responsive services, school-based therapy, outpatient services, disability specific care, and permanent supportive housing with wraparound supports. I will work for a system that provides care as soon as care is needed. But, to make this vision a reality, we must take care of those who care for us. There is a serious shortage of behavioral health professionals. The schooling required to become a behavioral health professional takes a significant amount of time and money. This results in a less diverse and smaller pool of professionals and fewer individuals pursuing specializations. Once individuals meet the requirements necessary to pursue employment, they are not taken care of as employees. Our healthcare providers are underpaid, undertrained, and as a result, understaffed. The healthcare providers, social workers, certified peer counselors, and caregivers we rely on to take care of some of our most vulnerable are not treated well. If we want to transform our behavioral health system, we must start by taking care of our behavioral health providers. I will work to make sure they are paid a living wage, are provided the training they need to successfully provide individualized care, and ensure they are encouraged to pursue specializations. By properly supporting our workforce, we encourage others from diverse backgrounds to pursue this career path and increase the number of providers’ range of expertise.

I’m a community organizer by training, the only way I know how to draft successful legislation is working with impacted communities and taking direction from them. A big part of why I support these ideas is because they have come from families who lost their loved ones to police violence and are part of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability (WCPA). I’m interested in pursuing legislation that is directed by and for people with direct lived experiance including the families of WCPA.

As a physician, I see everything through a health equity lens. Public safety to me means that every member of our community has the ability to develop, to maintain their health and wellness, and to reach their full potential without fear or threat. That is not a reality for too many whose lifespans are defined by the color of their skin or the zip code they were born in.

We should evaluate and measure who has access to important resources and social services, such as healthcare, childcare, education, and housing. We must also measure

rates of violent crime. We should measure how many people end up in the carceral system and how many end up in alternative, restorative justice programs. We should measure the success of preventative programs - mentorships, apprenticeships and other programs that allow young people to develop skills, earn a living wage and contribute to their communities.

We should work to fill the gaps in health inequity. One way I did this was by helping lead the fight to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates in the state of Washington so that poor children (disproportionately children of color) would have meaningful access to health care providers. Health equity also means safety from police brutality, poverty racism, misogyny, homophobia, and climate change.

As a pediatrician, I am trained to treat the whole child – this is the perspective I will bring to advocating for health and safety in Olympia. Taking care of the whole child requires considering their family context, home environment, development, mental health, physical well-being, and ability to thrive. That’s why I will advocate to strengthen our mental health workforce, invest in education, implement common sense gun reform, and champion environmental justice. We must work to fill in the gaps and ensure that all members of the community have access to the social services that allow people to thrive.

When it comes to law enforcement, over policing, incarceration, and police violence in our state disproportionately impact marginalized communities. And, we must have enough police to respond to violent crime when it occurs. Those officers must be trained so that they can respond APPROPRIATELY. And, we must have enough individuals trained in trauma informed care, crisis response and mental health intervention to augment the work done by police. This will allow police to do what they are best trained to do and allow well-trained professionals who are equipped to handle mental health crises, addiction and other issues handle situations that are best managed with de-escalation techniques and protect communities from excessive force. Such approaches have already saved lives in our state. In order to shape those reforms I will look to colleagues in the Black Members Caucus and the communities in my district most impacted by any policy. I will do whatever is in my capacity to support essential reforms as a pediatrician, parent, and legislator.

Gun violence in minority communities is, unfortunately, predominantly carried out by teenagers and young adults. We must work to put systems in place that decrease access to deadly weapons. We also should implement community policing where the police can

be part of a community’s harm reduction and seen as allies rather than as dangerous enemies. There is much repair work to be done and training needed in that area. I will passionately support all of these solutions. I want to listen to the communities themselves so I that I can learn from them and advocate effectively on their behalf. I believe that people can and will tell you what they need.