WHEN DAN EGAN LOST HIS FATHER TO SUE SIGHT MORE THAN THREE DECADES AGO, IT CHANGED HIS LIFE COMPLETELY.

AT FIRST, HE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT AND PRETENDED THAT EVERYTHING WAS ALL RIGHT.

BUT I WASN'T AND HE KNEW IT WASN'T.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY AND DAN LEADS THE CAPITAL REGION CHAPTER OF THE AFSP AND SITS ON THE NATIONAL LOSS AND HEALING COUNCIL.

WE SPOKE ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH TODAY AND HOW MORE LIVES CAN BE SAVED.

[ THEME MUSIC ] DAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

WE APPRECIATE IT.

OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME, DAN.

OF COURSE.

SO MENTAL HEALTH, I FEEL LIKE, IS SUCH A PIVOTAL ISSUE RIGHT NOW.

I MEAN, THERE'S JUST SO MUCH COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC, DIFFERENT TRAUMAS HAPPENING, POLITICS, A LOT ON THE BOARD.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU HEAR ABOUT THAT IN YOUR WORK?

YOU HAVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME ABSOLUTELY.

IN SOME WAYS, IT'S KIND OF THE ONE SILVER LINING OUT OF PANDEMIC IS FOR A LOT OF FOLKS IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THEY REALLY EXPERIENCED SOME OF THAT ANXIETY AND THAT ISOLATION AND WHILE WE DON'T WISH THAT ON ANYBODY, IT HELPED TO RAISE AWARENESS AND YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID, WITH THE DIVISIVENESS IN THE COUNTRY OVER POLITICS, YOU KNOW, MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION IS REALLY THE TOPIC THAT I THINK SHOULD HELP UNITE US AND WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT WE NEED TO DO BETTER.

I THINK SO, TOO, I MEAN, DURING THE PANDEMIC, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.

IT'S A TIME WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE SOUGHT HELP BECAUSE THE PRESSURES WERE JUST SO INTENSE.

I MEAN, YOU HAD SO MANY PEOPLE OUT OF WORK, KIND OF HOPELESS ABOUT THEIR FUTURE, THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY COMES DOWN TO THIS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH IS THE STIGMA OF IT.

A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T GET HELP BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT IT.

WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THAT?

YEAH.

AND EVERY TIME WE TALK ABOUT IT OURSELVES, RIGHT, LIKE I DEALT WITH MY OWN MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AS WELL AS HAVING THE SUICIDE LAWS AND EVERY TIME YOU SHARE YOUR STORY, IT KIND OF GIVES PEOPLE PERMISSION TO THEIR THEIRS.

YEAH.

IF WE WANT FOLKS REALLY, LIKE WE SAY, TAKE OUR MENTAL HEALTH AS IMPORTANT AS WE DO OUR PHYSICAL HELL, IT REAM REALLY COME DOWN TO BEING WILLING TO HAVE THOSE OPEN CONVERSATIONS AND THOSE OF US WHO ARE OUTSPOKEN ABOUT IT HOPEFULLY WILL HELP OTHERS BE ABLE TO DO SO AS WELL.

YEAH.

I ASK ABOUT STIGMA BECAUSE I THINK THE FIRST STEP FOR ANYBODY IN TERMS OF DEALING WITH THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE OR SELF-HARM IS REALLY JUST TALKING TO SOMEBODY.

I MEAN, GUIDE ME THROUGH IT.

IF I'M SOMEBODY WHO IS HAVING THESE THOUGHTS OF, IT'S A VERY CRUCIAL TIME TO MAKE A DECISION.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

IF YOU'RE TRULY IN THAT CRISIS, WHICH SOMETIMES WE KNOW CAN BE SHORT, YOU KNOW, FIRST STEP, DIAL 988 OR TEXT IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TALK TO SOMEONE.

YOU KNOW, SINCE IT'S BEEN SHORTENED AND WE'RE A LITTLE OVER THE FIRST YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION AND WE HAVE SEEN THAT THE CALLS TO THE LINE HAVE GONE UP 40%, BUT THE AMAZING PART IS THE TEXT LINE.

THE TEXT TO 988 HAVE GONE UP A THOUSAND PERCENT.

IT SHOWS PEOPLE ARE USING IT, YOU KNOW, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE AND WHEN IT IS, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEONE THERE YOU CAN SUPPORT.

FOR SOME PEOPLE THAT CRISIS MIGHT BE OVER AND IT WILL PASS, BUT FOR MOST OF US, WE'RE GONNA NEED ADDITIONAL HELP IN ALWAYS SPEAKING TO A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.

NOW THAT'S WHERE IN SOME PLACES RIGHT NOW, WE REALLY RUN INTO STRUGGLES BECAUSE THERE JUST AREN'T ENOUGH PROVIDERS FOR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP.

THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT.

I'M SOMEBODY WHO SUFFERS FROM CHRONIC DEPRESSION.

IN FINDING A THERAPIST, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE A LOT OF THE TIME.

I MEAN, BECAUSE OF AVAILABILITY, THEIR AVAILABILITY IN TERMS OF THEIR TIME.

THEY'RE WORKING 9:00 TO 5:00.

I'M ALSO WORKING 9:00 TO 5:00.

I CAN'T JUST GO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY A LOT OF THE TIME.

THAT STRIKES TO AN ISSUE THAT I THINK IS MUCH BIGGER THAN ME AND MY PROBLEMS.

THE MENTAL HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS STATE I DON'T FEEL MEETS THE DEMAND THAT WE HAVE.

I'M WONDERING HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.

YEAH.

I THINK WHAT YOU SAY IS COMPLETELY TRUE.

OUR STATE, AND THIS IS A LITTLE SCARY AT TIMES MIGHT BE ONE OF BETTER STATES IN TERMS OF MENTAL HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE ACROSS THE BOARD.

WE REALLY NEED TO FIND THOSE WAYS FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS WELL TO INCENTIVIZE FOLKS INTO GOING INTO THAT PROFESSION.

YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A VERY LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS WHO ARE-- SO IF YOU WANTED TO SEE SOMEONE WHO LOOKED LIKE YOU, SHARED A GENDER IDENTITY, YOU KNOW, SHARED A RELIGIOUS FAITH, IT WOULD BE AN AMAZING STRUGGLE.

THAT'S ONE STEP AND THEN INVESTING IN IT.

THE GOVERNOR INVESTED A BILLION DOLLARS IN IT THIS BUDGET SEASON WHICH IS GREAT.

BUT THEN IT COMES DOWN TO HOW THAT MONEY IS SPENT, AND THAT'S REALLY JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG, RIGHT?

YEAH.

MENTAL HEALTH IS ALMOST CONSTANTLY WE'RE IN TRIAGE MODE.

SO WE REALLY ARE DEALING WITH CRISIS ALL THE TIME.

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT SUICIDE, RIGHT NOW MOST PEOPLE WOULD SAY 988.

WELL, THAT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF CATCHING SOMEONE IN STAGE FOUR CANCER.

YES.

SO THE GOAL IS TO REALLY MOVE IT BACK TO WHERE WE GET TO SEE FOLKS SEE A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WHEN YOU'RE HEALTHY SO YOU CAN BUILD UP THOSE SKILLS TO DEAL WITH THE CRISIS WHEN IT COMES TO IT SO IT DOESN'T REACH A CRITICAL STAGE.

EXACTLY.

KIND OF LIKE HOW I SEE MY DOCTOR FOR, YOU KNOW, PHYSICAL EVERY YEAR WHEN HE WANTS TO CHECK ME OUT.

I THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT REGULAR IF I WAS GOING TO SEE A THERAPIST WHILE I AM MENTALLY HEALTHY, I WOULDN'T GO JUST ONCE A YEAR.

EVEN STILL WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE THAT PHYSICAL IS COVERED 100% BY INSURANCE.

RIGHT.

A LOT OF THE PREVENTATIVE TESTS TO SCREEN FOR CANCER ARE COVERED 100%.

WE DON'T HAVE THAT AS WIDELY AVAILABLE FOR MENTAL HEALTH.

MAYBE IT COMES DOWN-- AND AGAIN THIS IS ME AS AN ADVOCATE, NOT ME AS A PROFESSIONAL, BUT DEVELOPING THAT MENTAL HEALTH PHYSICAL.

RIGHT NOW, THE DOCTOR DOES HAVE THAT SHEET THEY'LL GIVE YOU SOMETIMES.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOURS DOES WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT ONE TO FIVE AND THAT'S ALWAYS HARD, BUT AGAIN, ARE THEY READY TO HEAR THAT ANSWER?

RIGHT.

AGAIN, IT'S MAKING SURE THAT OUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS ARE TRAINED IN HOW TO DEAL WITH SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE IN CRISIS, YOU KNOW, AND THEN INCENTIVIZING PEOPLE TO GO INTO THIS PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SOCIAL WORK FIELD ESPECIALLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR THAT ARE UNDERSERVED AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES TO MAKE SURE THERE'S REPRESENTATION.

YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING THAT'S A HUGE THING IS YOUTH.

THERE AREN'T THAT MANY STATE-RUN YOUTH BEDS.

I HAVE HEARD IT FROM SOMEONE AND IT'S LIKE DOWN STATE, OUT TO UTICA.

IN THIS AREA IF YOU HAD A CHILD WHO NEEDED IN-PATIENT, IT'S NOT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE STATE AND IT'S VERY LIMITEDLY AVAILABLE THROUGH PRIVATE.

THAT'S REALLY JUST A FUNDING ISSUE, I'M ASSUMING.

MORE FUNDING WOULD LEAD TO MORE BEDS.

EXACTLY.

IT'S MORE FUNDING.

OBVIOUSLY, THERE WOULD BE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDOUT AND IMPLEMENTATION AND FINDING PROVIDERS.

ULTIMATELY, A LOT OF IT DOES COME DOWN TO FUNDING AND RAISING MONEY TO FUND MORE MENTAL HEALTH PROJECTS AND TO DO BETTER RESEARCH, SO WE TRULY UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE ROOT CAUSE BEHIND DEPRESSION/ANXIETY AND WHAT LEADS SOMEONE TO BE SUICIDAL.

DAN EGAN, BOARD CHAIR OF THE CAPITAL REGION CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CHATTING ABOUT ALL THIS.

I KNOW IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY SO THANK YOU.

YEAH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

I APPRECIATE IT MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.

[ THEME MUSIC ] IF YOU RECENTLY LOST SOMEONE TO SUICIDE, THE AFSP HAS RESOURCES TO HELP YOU PROCESS THAT LOSS AS YOUR LIFE CONTINUES.

THEY ALSO PRETTY REGULARLY HOST WALKS AND EVENTS TO RAISE AWARENESS AND FUNDING.

WE'LL LINK TO THEIR WEBSITE ALONG WITH THIS WEEK'S SHOW ON OUR WEBSITE.

AS ALWAYS, THAT'S AT NYNOW.ORG.

BUT THE KEY, EXPERTS SAY, IS TO ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH 988, A TRUSTED LOVED ONE OR A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.

THERE IS HELP OUT THERE.