Transcript: De Blasio Family Speaks At Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration's Launch Of National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

May 6, 2014

Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vlQhScjeos

First Lady Chirlane McCray: Thank you, Administrator Hyde. This is a very special day for our family. Last summer when Chiara opened up about how much she was suffering, I started researching. Whatever she needed, I was going to get it for her.

But as she began her recovery, I realized Chiara didn’t need me or her father to take charge of her life, she needed us to walk beside her and listen. So many young people who are struggling with this disease, sleep into self-destructive spirals that can last for years, or even lifetimes.

Chiara had that self-resolve to jump straight into the hard work of recover. She somehow found the strength to help herself, and also to help others. She is a remarkable young woman. I am not just proud of her, I am in awe. And her father, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, is not going to let me have the last word about this.

[Laughter and applause]

Mayor Bill de Blasio: The first lady is right as usual.

[Laughter]

I want to thank Secretary Sebelius and Administrator Hyde and Linda Rosenberg and all of the organizations that are here today for such an important gathering. And for me, I have the honor of introducing the honorary chair of this event.

Now typically I have had the opportunity to introduce honorary chairs, most of the time they’re a lot older than me. I’m used to expressing their many, many years and decades of service. But this is a new situation for me today, to have an honorary chair who happens to be my 19-year-old daughter.

And I couldn’t be prouder, because she stood up, she spoke from the heart, she worked so hard at sobriety. And for her, it’s something that means so much. She talks about it with us all the time. She marks every one month anniversary with pride.

And it’s something especially powerful to me because in my own life, in my own family, we faced these demons before. My own father was an alcoholic. He could not, unfortunately, tragically, find his way to this kind of help, this kind of recovery. But his granddaughter could. And she did. And there is something powerful in that.

[Applause]

So we know that we all have to speak up. We all have to recognize what so many of us are facing, what so many of us are facing, what it’s doing to our society. We need people to speak up. We need people to be a positive example.

And that is what Chiara chose to do. She chose to speak out because she wanted to help others. So many people have told me they’re moved by her story, they learned from it. It helped them have a conversation in their family they needed to have.

And for Chirlane and I, that makes us so proud of Chiara and what she's already doing to help others. And with that, it is my honor to present the 2014 honorary chair for national children's mental health awareness day, Chiara de Blasio.

[Applause]

Chiara de Blasio: Thank you mom and dad. I couldn’t have been so successful in my recovery if not for your love and support.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone at SAMHSA for naming me the honorary chairperson of awareness day. Many congratulations to the other young adults. Thank you for all of your amazing work. And thank you for your [inaudible] to the cause.

I am so honored to be recognized, and frankly I still haven’t processed how excited I am. But I certainly am grateful. And I want you to know that this is only the beginning of what I hope to be a lifelong career of helping others who have been affected by mental illness. Thank you.

[Applause]

[Break in Program]

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. It’s my real delight to be with all of you today and I want to start by thanking and recognizing Pam Hyde, she does – yes, she deserves a huge applause.

[Applause]

Pam does so much as the leader for our incredibly important agency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She’s a great leader, she’s a great partner to the state and local level, and she really gets these issues in a way that is so important to millions of people across this country.

I also want to say I’m delighted to be joined today by the de Blasio family. And while you’re going to see one of their superstars up here, I want to recognize the mayor again and his wife, who are with us today. The mayor and the First Lady of New York, could you give them another round of applause please?

[Applause]

Now there’s a great story about former President Lyndon Johnson. Supposedly one say when things got particularly tough at the White House, he turned to an aide and said, ‘You know, things are bad. I mean, they are really bad, but they could be worse. I could be a big city mayor.’

[Laughter]

And I must say, as things were up and down during some of our recent period, I thought to myself, ‘Well, at least I’m not the mayor of New York City.’

[Laughter]

But I’m so glad Mayor de Blasio is the mayor of New York City. He’s a terrific leader. Yes, you can give him another round of applause.

[Applause]

You know, we had the chance to work recently on an issue that’s going to be huge for New York, and that’s the expansion of the state’s Medicaid waiver. And it really shows how innovation and new thinking, a way to deliver new care, and to really focus on services that are so important to his city, we can all work together to improve the quality of care we deliver to fellow citizens.

You know, I was the governor of Kansas in one of my former lives – oh good, there’s some Kansas folks here.

[Applause]

I am also –

[Audience member calls out]

We can talk about that later.

[Laughter]

I am also the daughter of a former governor of Ohio, the only father-daughter team in history. And I just shared with Chiara backstage that I think that generations should repeat itself. We need some more father-daughter teams in history. So you can make your own decision when she comes up here, but I want to keep that – to keep in mind.   

Now, you’re going to hear from Chiara de Blasio in a few minutes, but as we recognize her courage and leadership, I want to just spend a few minutes talking about why her voice is so important. Here’s what we know: three-quarters of adult mental health conditions appear before the age of 24, but we still have way too many adults who fail to recognize the signs of mental stress, mental illness, or addiction in young people. And way too many of our younger Americans don’t feel safe enough to ask for help. It takes a lot of courage to seek help. Not just go and get help in the first place, but to speak up about it, so that other people then can have the courage to get help themselves.

We need to move beyond the idea in this country that when we talk about mental health conditions or addiction, we’re talking about somebody else. It’s not somebody else, it’s all of us. It’s all of our families, it’s all of our neighbors, it’s all of our kids.

[Applause]

We need to get to a place in this country where everybody feels comfortable accessing treatment without the fear of getting judged. To a place where anyone feels as comfortable saying they’re going for counseling as they are saying they’re going for a flu shot or getting physical therapy. And that’s why at the President’s request, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and I launched a national dialogue on mental health. And Americans are joining this dialogue across the country, coming forward to identify gaps in services in their own communities, bringing issues out of the shadow, and talking about the fact that treatment is available.

Now, when it comes to young people especially, we know that recovery from behavioral health and substance abuse challenges is attainable with the proper support. The deal that we ought to be able to make with any young person is that if you have the courage to ask for help, we’ll make sure that help is accessible to you. Now we’re in the midst of the largest expansion of mental health and substance abuse services in decades. The combination – and yes, that is a very good deal.

[Applause]

What we’ve got going on right now is the combination of the long-overdue parody rule, to make sure that mental health issues are treated the same way as physical health issues, and the Affordable Care Act expanding, finally, coverage to millions of uninsured and under-insured Americans. The results of that partnership will mean that more than 60 million Americans will have access to substance use and mental health treatment that didn’t have it before, and that’s a huge step forward.

[Applause]

As a result of that, fewer of our younger people will risk aging out of services. They can now access them throughout their lifetimes. Because of the Affordable Care Act, your insurance company has to offer preventive services, including screenings for alcohol abuse and depression, and behavioral assessments for children – all without co-pays or out of pocket fees. Neither young people or their parents can ever be denied coverage again because of a pre-existing condition, and that is a huge step forward in this country.

[Applause]

And it is becoming more affordable than ever to get covered in the first place. Young people can stay on their parents’ plans until the age of 26. And millions of Americans – and hopefully millions more as we continue this effort – will get covered under Medicaid. States are moving forward with expansion. We have more than half the country and we need to turn up the Bunsen burner under those states that have not yet taken up that plan. It’s a critical battle.

And we have more than 8 million Americans who have signed up for health insurance through the marketplaces. Now that kind of open enrollment is a testament to the affordability and accessibility of private marketplace coverage that now comes with mental health and substance use services. So, in addition to expanding access to services, we’ll be investing to make sure that services are widely available to patients in their own communities. Through the Now Is The Time Initiative, we’ve invested millions to train more mental health professionals. And the president’s 2015 budget includes even more significant investments.

We’re helping with programs that help teachers identify conditions their students may have, along with resources and toolkits available to them. But unfortunately, even with those kinds of investments, and even with expanded insurance coverage. In order to access services, young people need to feel comfortable coming forward. And once they do, they often find out they’re absolutely not alone. They find that members of their families, their churches, their synagogues, and schools, their neighborhoods, come forward as well.

And with that in mind, and knowing how powerful these young voices are, I want to bring up Chiara de Blasio and present her with our special recognition award for her resilience, for her courage in speaking out about her own experiences, and for being an inspiring, hopeful voice for young adults. Chiara, would you come forward?

[Applause]

Chiara de Blasio: Thank you so much, Secretary Sebelius, for this award, as well as for your service to the people of this country. Can we give her another round of applause?

[Applause]

This award is truly an honor and a blessing. But the truth is, no award or achievement will mark the end of my personal battles with addiction and mental illness. Nor will I ever stop fighting to make recovery possible for others.

But today, I am grateful and overjoyed. One year ago, I could not have imagined that I would be standing before you today as a sober and healthy young woman. One year ago, I was lost, confused, and overpowered by depression, anxiety, addiction, and [inaudible]. One year ago, life didn’t seem worthwhile. One year later, here I am. And that is nothing other than a miracle.

Now, for the rest of these brief remarks, I could talk about myself but I won’t, because if not for other people I wouldn’t have made it to where I am today. So thank you, Dad – even while running the biggest city in America, you still give me more love and support than I could ask for. And thank you, Mom, for your patience and your endless dedication to helping me get better. Thank you, Dante, you’re the best little brother in the world – and this is the only time you will catch me saying so. Thank you to mental health professionals everywhere – you have helped me and others to see that life is worth living. Thank you to the treatment centers – you lay the foundations for beautiful lives. Thank you to every single person in recovery – no matter who you are, no matter how long you’ve been in recovery, be it one day or 20 years, you are carrying the message that we don’t have to live like that anymore.

I am blessed to be able to carry the message today. In the spirit of recovery, I aspire to give to others the gift that was so freely given to me. And I hope you hear me loud and clear – the battle against mental illness is not easy nor is it painless, but it is worth it. Please listen to the people in your life, especially those who are struggling. If you are suffering, there is a way out. I ask you to please talk to a mental health professional or someone else you trust. We never have to fight this battle alone.

Thank you again, SAHMSA. And thank you to the people that got me there. Thank you for giving me my life back.