Next, tina smith, pg did Pete Buttigieg and julie su participating in the national washington, d. C. They talk about Mental Health, jobs, the economy, and transportation safety. This is 1. 5 hours. Thank you, clarence and thank you president sanders and congratulations to our founding state Municipal League wilets e more time. [applause] several of our speakers this moin Important Role that intergovernmental relationships play in the history of cities, towns,years. And our speakers this afternoon will dive even deeper into the power of tho partnerships. Lets get things started. We will kick things off here with a very important topic. A topic that leaders like us can ■hsupport Strong Mental Health resources and services for our communities. The great news congress, we truy do, on both sides of the aisle who are rea twork through the bn senate Mental Health caucus. And today, it is my true pleasure to have a conversation with one of the caucus cochairs, senator tina smith from senator smith was once chief of savannah chief of staff to th and has a long history here at nlc and today we are excited to welcome her back home. So please, put your6c■m hands together for senator smith. Thank you for joining us, senator smith, here today. [applause] im looking for the minnesotans. They are in the house. Very nice socks. Do you like those . We have come together, i am curious, how did you come together with your colleag, thom tillis, alex padilla, to Health Project . As you said in your opening comments, i think there isn menl health in congress and as you also said, it is not democratic or republican, it is bipartisan. My view of iw is that Mental Health and the need for access to better Mental Health care has been an issue for many ari thint into the forefront both in terms of addressingng to overcome some of the stigma about Mental Health andjust bec. We have an epidemic of Mental Health challenges in the country right now so those of us, alex, thom tillis, joni and i have all been working on this and we all have done asked. With Mental Health challenges in our own lives, so coming together just made great sense and i think it of ways because the work we do on Mental Health in congress is spread out among so many different committees and this provides a locus for effort which is important. Amid the national Mental Health crisis we all recognize we are in a crisis, how would the caucus work to priorities which error night which areas to focus on in terms of developing policy . Fl everyone brings their own priorities. Senator ernst for example, who i believe serves on Armed Services and is very focused on■ Women Veteran issues brings that focus. My particular focus is on improving access to youth Mental Health care, addressing the tremendous shortage of Mental Health care providers, and then i am quite focused on making sure Mental Health care is ■6, making sure Insurance Companies and medicare and medicaid cover Mental Health cares should so people can get help paying for what is expensive. For the past years, congress has worked on a bipartisan basis to implement crucial and health services. Things that are included in the action arene, expanding access to Suicide Prevention programs for veterans , building out the infrtructure for Mental Health in the k12 system. Last Year Congress took this steping the bipartisan saver communities act which includes Major Investments in communitybased Mental Health services. How will the caucus were to ensure those investments are effective and the lives of American Families . As you say, congress over the last couple years has made really significant new improvements and investments in Mental Health care. I am sure many of you in the room can appreciate thedp valuef Community Health centers to provide basic health care to folks who mistruggle to it. We passed a huge expansion of Community BehavioralHealth Care Centers which i think will benefit so country, its a huge benefit to my home state minnesota, to make sure that when people go into a clinic that there are Mental Health care resources right there for them as well as physical so making sure that get implemented correctly and is expanded as it should be, it is a huge opportunity for providing access to care. Another area of opportunity is schoolbased Mental Health care. I want to give an example of what that looks like. I bet everyone in theou see schoolbased care rise to the forefront. I know my friend mayoro kim norton from rochester, minnesota is here. In rochester, minnesota at john marsha h is such a great example of what this looks like. When you go into the school, right near the front door there center that anyone can go into. You might go in because you need help withw tutoring, or because there is a food bank. And when you go in the door, there is someone to do a bit of out what you might need when it comes to Mental Health care. Then you get connected with the school nurse or whatever kind of care you need. What is great about it is again, there is no stig, you just walk. People dont know why you are going in. You can get the help you need. And that is where students are four hours of their day. Removing the barriers like transportation that can be so significant for people, how do you leave school in the middle of the day, its awesome. And then the providers are helping to connect the students parents so there is kind of a holistic approach is just such an opportunity. One of the things that happens in communities is there are providers but often they are toi have worked on legislation to improve that and allow them to be in schools more. And fundamentaths something your local school board and cities are trying to figure out as well and what i want to do is to make sure the federal government good partner in providing resources and not too many hurdles that make it difficult for small communities to participate and get involved. It is just a great example of what i think we can accomplish. I i have 12yearold twin daughters in the School System and what you say almost soun l service. You can get everything you need. Absolutely. And part of it is adult counselors, but also peer to peer counseling. They have trained a cadre of youth who can go out and talk with their peers and say, you might want to go and talk with nancy in the counseling center, she will be able to help you. Then a student will hearheir pey might not hear from a teacher or parent. That is amazing. Committee on Health Education labor prevention. They like to give our committees very long names. The longer they are, the more important. How is the committee working on these imrtr again, this committee has a real historye things forward so in a variety of ways, this is a primary Health Policy committee of the senatef0 and so it is very influential when it comes to issues of Mental Health. I have worked on this in a variety of ways. Its whereber meets the road when it comes to addressing Mental Health workforce challenges. I have been working very closely with my colleague Lisa Murkowski fr alaska to try to address how we can get more people trained across the continuum in Mental Health know, there is a l shortage from Substance Use disorder counselors to family therapists, child therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, all across the continuum and some of to work in the field is quite expensive and that can be a barrier for people working into the field so lisa and i have worked on pac programs for loan forgiveness for people going into Mental Health counseling or training that give them loan forgiveness, especially and when they are willing to practice in areas of the country or in fields where there is a very represent small towns, Rural Communities where there is a shortage of Mental Health care providers that is particularly huge. Nlc will be on capitol hill wednesday, we often have other fly ends where we are engaging. I want to know how kenmore he work of the caucus to ensure that the challenges and successes darkened littered by congress as current programs are evaluated and new ones are eated . Your voice is a very powerful and having you here talkingo my colleagues, colleagues in the house and senate, and to their staff, is very important. Because we listen to you. And we know that you have a better idea than we do about what is happening on the ground in yourst thing is just giving us the lay of the land in terms of how things are going then also bringing forth your you pointed out i was once the chief of staff of the mayor of minneapolis and i know a little no job is too big or too small for the mayor of any city in the country. It incident, and it is still something your constituents expect you to work on and have a solution to. So your knowledge about your communities is of huge value. Tell us what things are working, there is a grant but it is too hard for my community to apply for that grant, that is a big is, let us know and then we can work to try to fix it. That is great for that 3000 attendees toear. Also ways in wh. Tina smith, thank you so much for being here. I know you are very busy and we really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to co. Welcome home. Thank you so much. I want to thank all ofrk you dor communities work all across minnesota and the country. I am so grateful for you. And what i love about mayors and city administrators and city councilmembers is that you are problem solvers. You are, its just a question of trying to make government work for your communities and we really need you, so thank you so very much. [applause] goodbye, everyone. [applause] all right. Now we would like to share a quick video with you. In a recent gallup poll, 63 of americans describe crime as serious of a problem in our communities. Collaborative violence prevention and Safety Strategies can absolutely year the natione rate dropped 13 from the prior year with the many drops. Philadelphia is an example. Homicide rate dropped 21 . Baltimore dropped 25 . Nationwide, instances of rape, robbery and aggravated assault were all down. Earlier this month nlc hosted a webinar focused on successful strategies for advancing and reducing violent, and we wanted to take a moment t leaders are making a real impact. With that, lets roll the■■weo for me, a truly Safe Community is a community that is not fearful of enjoying the parts of the fabric of our community. Where everyone can be free. Where we care for each other. When we start moving forward in changing the trajectory of Public Safety, i see a Safe Community where there is hope. ■r■u prevention is a huge pro, a Workforce Development program, Mental Health services. Under our safe hopeful and healthy umbrella we have reimagined and reframed Public Safety by focusing on Mental Health and community engagement. Adding opportunity to reduce Violent Crime in the community and create a pathway to young people out of situations they could not get out of. Focus on being successful in this worldthey help to remove t. Young adults 18 to 30 years old with paid training opportunities to connect with longterm careers. Clement related jobs, clean infrastructure climate related jobs, clean infrastructure. Have access to opportunity, clean water, fresh food, retail in their neighborhoods, good paying jobs to thrive. Eighborhds if we do not address the drivers of crime we will never disrupt the crime cycle. Giving investment into the community embrace the young adults and say we see you, we love you, its more than about guns and they will figure out how to put all the pieces together. Transforming Public Safety and putting the public back in Public Safety and to be that meant deploying the right resources to the right call. The program in philadelphia combines social service providers, law enforcement, and city agencies to really help. Reimagining policing means we are only limited by our we want those who are best suited to solve the problem in the process. Joboper and engaged in our communities and we are not raising your taxes to do it, we are just trying to look differently at all the different ways. The trajectory is one leading us in the right direction. He neighbors, clients. If we work together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. We will not get out of it without the hard work and everyone coming together and rolling up their sleeves to invest in our community. The only way you build trust with anybody is really doing somethingog and working together and going into the trenches together. [applause] was that fantastic . We need to keep the great work moving forward, so lets keep up with the great work being done. For th segment we will shift gears and dive into the topic of Workforce Development. Anyone who has been involved in nlc ■lzm over the last year has undoubtably heard of an Amazing Program called the jobs great academy. It began through a partnership with the u. S. Department of labor and under our Vice President mayor woodards leadership, it is engaging with 33 communities across the united statesn developing innovative workforce programs that are upscalingcaling workers in quality, high demand jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, and manufacturing. ■industries that are truly going to help build tomorrows economy. We are already seeing the results of many participating. With the academy support, the city of missoula, montana is implementing aects low income wo local Renewable Energy jobs. D maryland has launched a new citye to connect formerly incarcerated residents to good career opportunities. And there is so, so muchto get e program, please turn your attention to the screen for another short video. Most people who run for mayor do it because they wantple in their communities. We are seeing unprecedented fund income for the federal government for us to do things we have not been able to do for decades. We have a once in a generational opportunity to really change the trajectory of all of our cities. The job great cities is the best way to do that. Therere. The ones who understand the Workforce Development is the most important thing they are doing and those who have yet to realize that workforce de important thing you are doing because if you really have a longterm Strategic Focus on how to fix your city, it always comes back that, wealth and opportunity and closing the gaps in the community. One of the biggest■ things ie partnership with the National League of cities and being part of the program is there is no monopoly on good ideas, being ■duable to learn from our counterparts across the country will help the team bring back additional ideas to the City Government as well as academic ins we partner with each day. Women, veterans, the reentry population, will benefit tremenlythe partnership. I tell people all the time i think that when you are the mayor, you are in the future business while trying to set up the committo be a better place over the next 5, 10, 20 years. What we are struggling with in the city of we need more workers and some of it is really what i consider workforce adjacent life experiences. ■kreliable Public Transportation and in for her are all in our wheelhouse and at the same time they are not all things we control so the work with the National League of cities, with good jobs great cities is really about how do we bring all of it together . Bhc we do not have time or extra staff to experiment with. We have to innovate while we are doing. And the concrete application means somebody can be connected into a pathway of economic independence. Creating good jobs is what we do when we want to take care of each other. Its what we do when we want to be sustainable in the community. And is what we all want for the people in our lives. We want people to feel like they have opportunities for good work, making a difference in their community and living with dignity and respect. Use] none of the great work that good jobs great none of it wouldve been possible without support and collaboration from the u. S. Department of labor. We especially acting secretary julie su for championing the project and seeing i us. So with that, please join me in welcoming acting secretary of the u. S. D