Assignment 6.

1
Charles Gentzel
18 April 2021

For this assignment I wrote to my Congresswoman, Deborah Ross (D NC 2 nd District),

encouraging her to support H.R. 523 the Community Health Center Mental Health Screening Act. This
act, proposed in January and currently in committee, would award grants to community health centers
so they can conduct mental health screenings and provide mental health treatment. I believe this act is
important because it can increase access to mental health services in communities that would otherwise
have limited or no access to mental healthcare. People across all income levels have the potential to
suffer from mental health issues, but it seems like only those in the mid to upper income brackets have
access to the insurance or resources needed for adequate and consistent assessment and treatment.

In my message, I tied support for this to the recent wave of mass shootings. I work in the
military which tends to attract individuals with strong pro-gun views. I have been hearing all about how
“this isn’t a gun problem, but a mental health problem.” I believe that politicians that espouse this
rhetoric could be boxed into supporting this bill. Since it funds through grants and not something more
contentious, like increases to Medicaid or Medicare, it might not meet the same resistance since those
programs can be politically contentious. I also plan to write to both of my Senators, encouraging them
to vote for this act if it passes from the House to the Senate.