Those are both good things that I care a lot about!
Voting for Mental Health, Post-Super Tuesday
This week was “Super Tuesday,” the biggest single day of voting in the primary election cycle. When I go to the polls, I go as a mental health voter. As I’ve written about in my new book and elsewhere, being a mental health voter doesn’t mean being a single-issue voter; rather, it means recognizing the way that many different issues that impact what we do at the ballot box are also mental health issues.
I’ve been reflecting this week, particularly because of the social media conversation around Super Tuesday results, on some of the less obvious ways in which mental health issues are hidden by electoral coverage. I’ve already written about some of these topics in my new book — which you should go buy right now!, or at least take a look at this free excerpt on mental health voting — but wanted to share a few more thoughts here at the end of “Super Tuesday Week.”
Down Ballots Matter for Mental Health Voters
Most of the media coverage this week has understandably focused on the most high-profile race, the Democratic presidential primary. It’s important for mental health voters to remember that down ballot races matter, too. The House of Representatives passes the budget. Senators have tremendous and important legislative power related to healthcare, as well as oversight over important agencies such as Health and Human Services. Local officials often have a big say in issues such as availability of psychiatric beds at the local hospital or whether a recovery facility can open in town. Of course, the President is important; but mental health voters in 2020 will pay a lot of attention to down ballot and local races, too.
Voter Suppression Matters — And It’s a Mental Health Issue, Too
News of long lines at polling places, particularly in Texas and California, emerged as Super Tuesday turned to Super Tues-night. Particularly in Texas, these lines were directly related to the closing of polling places which disproportionately impacted black voters in predominantly black communities. In other words: long lines were the result of voter suppression. This type of voter suppression helps keep people in power who are not accountable to the needs of the growing communities they supposedly serve. Voter suppression, voting rights, and access to the polls are also mental health issues. The more barriers are erected to voting, the more difficult voting becomes for people who struggle with anxiety, depression, or other chronic challenges. Voting should be easy and accessible. If you care about this topic, let me recommend the organization Fair Fight, which does great work on voting rights. Fair Fight’s founder, Stacey Abrams, has courageously shared about the ways in which mental health struggles, addiction, mass incarceration, and debt caused by medical needs have impacted her family and her understanding of what needs to change in our political sphere.
The Electoral Race vs. What’s Happening Now
We’re in primary election season, which means parties are choosing the candidates who will compete in the general election in November. Keep in mind that in the meantime, the policies and actions of the current administration are not put on pause. The current administration continues to join with 20 states to sue, in federal court, in order to eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The current administration is also suing in federal court to undermine the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency responsible, among other things, for regulating medical debt and debt collectors. The current administration has released a budget calling for major cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, Health and Human Services, and medical research at the National Institutes for Health. The current administration is refusing to answer questions in press conferences about whether people without health insurance will be able to access testing for the coronavirus. Mental health voters may very well disagree about who the best candidate is to occupy the White House, or any other position. But we should be clear about the actions being taken by the current administration and the way those actions impact mental healthcare and the many systems that impinge on it.
Courage and Discouragement — What If My Candidate Is Out of the Race?
If the social media conversation has reminded me of anything, it’s that we are not very good at letting people experience feelings of sadness, anger, and hurt. We want to fix and/or distance, sometimes with advice, sometimes with anger, snark, or irony. So let me just say clearly: it’s ok to feel sad, angry, hurt, or discouraged if your favored candidate hasn’t performed as well as you’d hoped, or has dropped out of the race. One piece of guidance for mental health voting that I write about in the book is to refuse to shame or demonize the voting behavior of others; I’ve been reminding myself of my own suggestion this week. It takes courage to run for office, and courage to speak up about things we care about deeply. Let’s encourage each other as we work together for a more just and equitable world. And let’s keep in mind the big picture — as in the above point — of what we’re working for: a more caring and healthy society for all.
Voting for Mental Health in Anxious Times
These are anxious times. Many of us are feeling overwhelmed. There is a sense in which many of us are going to the polls (or avoiding them) with a sense of collective trauma — and trauma, unprocessed, impacts our reactivity and our decision-making. One way of thinking about voting is as harm reduction. We are working to mitigate the impacts of trauma at the same time as we are working to change the systems that cause trauma in the first place — what Dr. Cedric C. Johnson has referred to as a “traumatogenic environment.” That means that we are often doing more than one thing at once — thinking both long- and short-term, supporting imperfect candidates (i.e. all of them) while at the same time pushing for a bigger and more courageous vision of what a caring and just society for all looks like.
Taking Care of Yourself (or, Maybe Get Off Social Media For a Second)
I think it was Brené Brown who said that social media is like fire — you can use it to warm a house up or to burn a house down. If voting is harm mitigation in the midst of an anxious and traumatic time, it’s worth remembering that caring for yourself is one way to care for the common good. This is true both because you, too, are part of the common good, and also because an intervention in one part of the system can positively impact the whole system. So if you find yourself feeling more hopeless, angry, and drained because of the social media storm right now — maybe just sign off for a little bit. It will still be there when you are ready to come back to it. And in the meantime, there’s way more out there than the social media conversation. Sign up for a local campaign. Make phone calls. Donate money. Check out NAMI’s #Vote4MentalHealth website. Take a look at the advocacy resources on my website. Or, if you just need to take a break and read a good book, I’ve got one for you!
All of us who vote can be mental health voters. And if there’s any way I can help you do that, I’d love to help out.
Upcoming Talks -- Y'all Come!
If you’d like to hear more about Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition and how our stories can join together into the big, courageous conversation we need to have about mental illness, mental healthcare, and the healthcare system, check out these upcoming opportunities:
Sunday, March 8, 11:15am — Faithful Living Forum at West Nash United Methodist Church
2200 Nash Street N, Wilson, NC
How can we live more faithfully and compassionately in relation to mental health struggles in our churches, our communities, and our world? Join us for this conversation at West Nash UMC, after their 10am worship service. And of course, do feel welcome to come and worship with us as well!
Wednesday, March 11, 12:10pm — Community Lenten Service at First Christian Church of Wilson
207 Tarboro Street NE, Wilson, NC
David will preach at this weekly ecumenical service, hosted by different congregations throughout the Lenten season. This relatively brief service will be followed by a community lunch.
Sunday, March 15, 10am — Preaching at First Christian Church of Wilson
207 Tarboro Street NE, Wilson, NC
David will be preaching on manna in the wilderness, victory columns, and the importance of “enough.”
Sunday, March 22, 11am — Preaching at Oak City Christian Church
310 W. Commerce Street, Oak City, NC
David will be preaching on Ephesians and grace as a pre-existing condition.
Stay tuned for announcements about big events in North Carolina and beyond in April, May, June, and July! And if you’d like to bring David to you, fill out the contact form on the website.
Speaking With a Shaking Voice: Fear, Guns, and Means Restriction in Wilson County
Photo: Janelle Clevinger, Wilson Times
Monday night, I spoke at the Wilson County Commissioners meeting. A group of county residents had organized to push the commissioners to adopt a resolution naming the county a “2nd Amendment Sanctuary.” I was opposed to the resolution for any number of reasons, not the least of which was its mis-appropriation of the term “sanctuary” to be about protecting guns rather than vulnerable people. But of course, there was more to my opposition than that.
I shared with the commissioners that I think every day about the possibility of gun violence on the campus where I work. That I think about how I would help students to hide, bar a door, get to an exit, if someone burst into a classroom, into the chapel, into my office.I told them that my wife, a hospital chaplain, regularly sees the aftermath and carnage of gun violence, the grieving mothers, the paper clips that have to be taped next to the exit wounds so that they show up on X-rays. And I told them that we shouldn’t bypass the big, courageous conversation we need to have about gun violence and reasonable gun safety measures by passing resolutions like this. I told them I was praying for them, and for peace for our homes, our communities, and our world.
One of the more creative comments on the article about the meeting
Getting up to speak was terrifying. I tried to control a shake in my voice. The room was full of supporters of the resolution, lining the walls and the hallways outside. Almost all of them, if not all, were white, mostly men. They muttered and made angry noises when I or other opponents of the resolution spoke. Of those who spoke against the resolution, all were people of color except for me. I assumed many of the resolution supporters were carrying concealed firearms, despite the prohibition against guns in the county manager’s office, as nobody was checked at the door. One man who spoke after me stated loudly that he would protect his right to own whatever guns he wanted “by any means necessary,” turning and looking at me and my wife when he said this. When we left, people stared at us, glared at us. I kept an eye out over my shoulder as we walked to our car to make sure we weren’t being followed. A commenter on the newspaper article the next day called me treasonous, a fake Christian, and said that the people of the county ought to “hold me accountable” for speaking against the resolution.
The man who spoke before me, in favor of the resolution, said that he looked into gun violence statistics and declared they weren’t accurate because they included deaths by suicide. “Those people,” he said, “would have found some way to kill themselves anyway. That’s got nothing to do with guns.”
I knew when I decided to speak that I wouldn’t be able to respond to every little thing that the supporters of the resolution said. But I did have to respond to that. So I told the commissioners that means restriction is one of the most effective types of suicide prevention. I told them that I had been personally impacted by suicide, that I knew and loved “those people,” and that yes, it is violence.
Eventually, in a closed session, the commissioners would pass a resolution affirming their commitment to the 2nd Amendment but not fully endorsing the sanctuary resolution being lobbied for. The only two commissioners who voted in opposition were the two African American women who serve on the commission. I wish the commissioners had simply chosen to take no action. To instead find a way to host a big, honest, courageous discussion about guns, gun violence, mental health, and suicide. But they did not.
I am still glad I spoke.
It was a scary thing to get up and speak. But I get to speak. Those whose deaths by suicide have deeply impacted to me do not get to do so.
So I will keep speaking. Even with a shaking voice.
And I will, indeed, keep praying and working for peace for ourselves, our homes, our communities, and our world.
You've Helped Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition Forgive More Than $45,000 In Medical Debt!
Last night, around 30 folks gathered in the parlor of the education building at First Christian Church of Wilson, NC for our book release party. We had a good time and some great conversation, with the help of Rev. Leigh Finnegan-Hosey as emcee and Rev. Blythe Taylor who led a conversation with me about the new book, Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition.
A portion of the proceeds from book sales at the event were donated to RIP Medical Debt. All in all, last night’s event raised $100 for the organization, which buys medical debt for pennies on the dollar and then abolishes the debt. Added to the more than $350 raised by our pre-order period, we’ve now helped forgive more than $45,000 in medical debt — since the debt can be purchased so cheaply, each $1 donation to RIP Medical Debt can forgive $100 in debt.
You helped do this. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
For a family, or multiple families, somewhere in this country, this means that they have been released from the imprisonment of unpayable debt and our now experiencing the kind of freedom that Jesus spoke about in his first sermon in Nazareth.
Not sure how I made that leap? Get yourself a copy of Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition and read the chapter on forgiveness of debts!
Book Release Party Tonight!
It’s here! We’ll be celebrating the release of Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition: Faith, Systems, and Mental Healthcare with a book release party at First Christian Church in Wilson, NC, tonight from 6:30pm until 8pm. There will be music, a book reading, a conversation with the author, and giveaways including, of course, a kitschy mug.
Check out the press release below and, if you’re in the area…y’all come!
Barton Chaplain Releases New Book, Helps Forgive Medical Debt
Posted February 24, 2020 · Add Comment
Wilson, N.C. – February 24, 2020 – Barton College Chaplain and local author David Finnegan-Hosey will celebrate the release of his new book, “Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition: Faith, Systems, and Mental Healthcare,” with a book launch and signing at First Christian Church of Wilson on Friday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale at the event for a cost of $15 each.
Finnegan-Hosey’s latest book emerges from his experiences with mental health struggles and the healthcare system. Having been diagnosed in 2011 with a disorder deemed a pre-existing condition, Finnegan-Hosey traces the connections between personal stories, mental health advocacy, and Christian faith. Along the way, he highlights the surprisingly theological language, which underpins our modern healthcare system, and the ways in which a more healthy theological conversation can help heal the brokenness of that system.
One of the issues raised in “Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition” is the link between pre-existing conditions and medical debt, something that Finnegan-Hosey experienced personally after he was denied coverage as a result of his diagnosis. He has donated all profits from pre-orders of his book to the organization RIP Medical Debt, helping to forgive approximately $35,000 of medical debt across the country. A portion of the proceeds from book sales at the release party also will be donated to RIP Medical Debt, which works to abolish medical debt across the country.
“It’s been an honor to be able to shine a light on the important topics of mental healthcare and medical debt, particularly within faith communities,” shared Finnegan-Hosey. “As Christians, we often struggle to discuss these topics, even though we are very aware that they impact our churches and our communities. I look forward to the launch of this book and to the vital conversations about faith, mental health, and advocacy that it will help create.”
The book release event will feature a reading from the book and a brief talk from Finnegan-Hosey, as well as a conversation with the Reverend Blythe Taylor about the book, prize giveaways, and a resource table. The event will be held in the Parlor of the Education Building at First Christian Church, located at 207 Tarboro Street North, on the corner of Vance and Tarboro Streets in Wilson.
For additional information about the book or this event, please contact David Finnegan-Hosey at chaplain@barton.edu or 252-399-6368.
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