Can take. Not really knowing or understanding consequences of what that pill might do to that their body in the long run. But in africa, they dont have that option. They just want to live. Over here, theyre able to live because they have medicine available. In africa and asia, they dont have that option some of the people, because they dont have the medicine. And i think you have seen a rise, a its cyclical, seems to happen every ten years, that this disease starts to rise again amongst the young. And im at a loss to explain it because, you know, everyone knows the consequences of being hiv positive. As i say you can live a safe and healthy life like a diabetic. It is probably easier to treat someone with hiv than a diabetic. That would be my explanation, why youre seeing a rise. In the rural south its it is also a huge problem as well. And i think, again, a lot of it is stigma. A lot of people not wanting to admit they have the disease. Not a lot of people are being tested. Not a lot of people being tested. A lot of people are Walking Around not knowing they have the disease. Theres still a lot of fear. Even in the countries so sophisticated as america and in my country, great britain, the now, met element talks about the plight of ethnic muslims lived in living in myanmar and living in the country formally known as irma. Matt thank you. It was a lovely introduction. Thank you, that was a lovely introduction. I want to thank everybody here at the National Press club for hosting michelle and myself. The largest stateless as this group stateless ethnic group over onerld, averaged Million People. 6 Million People. Having served on the board of Refugees International over the past several years, i have obviously heard about the rohingya during that time. Group of greata concern going back as far as the early 90s, maybe even longer. But it was six weeks ago here in d. C. That the rohingya really got my attention. A human rights activists and advocates was being honored at Refugees International. He made a powerful speech. There was an urgency that you dont typically here from somebody at awards ceremony. It was more of an immediate, desperate plea that someone who was accepting an award. Mouthrst words out of his were, i dont exist. I learned later that, at the very moment when he was making werespeech, many rohingya suffering and dying. My decision to go to myanmar was kind of a spontaneous thing. It wasnt something that i planned. I happened to be in tokyo doing pines. Wayward at that time, there was more stop it was coming out about the rohingya in the news. Of people pictures crammed into the holds of boats like human cargo. ,tories of Human Trafficking and ships being turned away by countries in the region. I wanted to find out a little bit more about why these people being forced to flee. I had been on mission before with Refugees International. Met and spoke with displaced people in eastern congo and in sudan. I really feel that the best way to learn about what is going on is to go there and see it for yourself. And i said, ille think im going to burma to visit the campus. He said, i think it will be very good. He told me that another of an a number of ngos working there, like msf, had been chased out of the camps. It is never a good time when msf gets chased away. It,aid, if you can go, do but because i think it will make a difference. So i decided to go under the radar, met up with a few journalist friends. We went together. City. In know, the you might Rohingya Muslims are an ethnic minority. The vast majority of People Living there are buddhist, who are themselves an ethnic minority within the country of myanmar. In the two days that we were there, we visited four displacement camps idp camps. Im not very good with acronyms but once i get what i like to use it. Village near the coastline. Many of the inhabitants there, theref the People Living were forced to live there after their homes were destroyed in outbursts of Ethnic Violence over the last three years. The First Impression when you visit these camps, right away, is that nobody would live there if they had a choice. It is hot, dry, there are no trees. The people we met seemed to be thoroughly defeated. Young men whose spirits were broken. Somebody hands with and there was a politeness but they would immediately look down, defeated. There were signs of malnutrition among the children. We met people who tried to escape unsuccessfully and spent several horrific months at sea only to be returned for ransom. Basically lost everything and ended up in myanmar. There were others whose homes have been burned to the ground and watch their neighbors being murdered as the police did nothing to stop it. During the two days that we were there, we didnt see any aid workers in the camps. There were signs that they were of wellhere were plenty structured the trains and things like that, but yet we didnt really see anybody. ,hat was a little bit strange because i have been in refugee camps. I didnt see anybody. I didnt visit all the camps, and again, i was only there for a few days. From what i understand, the ngos were not having an easy time working in the region. Serviced aboutic 30,000 people, with one dr. Who comes four days a week for about two hours a day. This is just not enough. About the desire to help these people. The conditions in the caps on back. Told, thei have been situation in the northern rohingya state is much worse when the apartheid conditions are more blatant. It is not somewhere you can visit easily. You have to go by boat, and the government really doesnt want you going there. This is where 90 of the rohingya live. The population is almost entirely rohingya. Yet, they are permitted to have administrative positions and are treated as secondclass citizens. I didnt get to go there. It is not easy to access. Sitway, the last rohingya in the town is a neighborhood where no one is allowed to enter. The People Living there are prisoners. Their Economic Life has been shut down. They have no access to services. Appearance, as you are driving through, it seems to be like other residential streets in the town except there are barbed wire checkpoints. We dont really know what is going on inside their because it is for didnt enter. But wasto enter offlimits and i was stopped by a policeman who was really just a kid. He insisted that i leave. This went on for a little while. Him putting his hand in front of my camera. Telling me i have to go. I got the point when a truck pulled up with more police with guns so we left. It is a neighborhood that is blocked off and it is literally under theolish ghetto nazis. People are contained and trapped. Talking to michelle and folks at human rights watch, this is an area of concern that if the violence flares up again as it has in the recent past that this and its inhabitants they would be trapped there like sitting ducks. With all the information is out there about them being turned away at sea it has turned it into stake the pressure off the myanmar government and turned it into an international issue. There were reports that the myanmar navy intercepted ship carrying refugees off the shore. Offloadedtly rohingya refugees. They were secretly offloaded. Theship then escorted remaining refugees to bangladesh. They were migrant workers. When they arrived, they were able to prove to the International Authorities that there are no refugees from emr on this ship. They gave credence to their assertion that the refugees were ben gali. They dont use the word rohingya . That doesnt exist. They were even praised by the state department and the u. N. For the rescue. Medidnt hold water for because i spoke to several people that were on that ship including one woman who was desperate to escape with her four children and she told us how men had boarded the ship at night and ordered everyone to get off the boat and the rohingya were taken to shore. So many of them have taken to the cds in an attempt to escape what is happening in myanmar. The woman with the four children told me that she would do it again if she could. Despite the three months of misery while she waited out in. He bay of bengal what happens is that the traffickers wont leave with the bigger ships until they are filled to the brim. It is a horrible situation. Young people are tricked into coming on these ships. Promised a better life. Suffered like this but she said she would do it again. That is how desperate the situation was. It is mindboggling. The reason that this is happening and will continue to happen is because the rohingya are stateless. Even though they have been born and raised there and living there for many generations. In 1982 a law was enacted stripping the rohingya of their basic rights. There are clear signs of ethnic cleansing. The rohingya arent permitted to travel. A law was passed with a threeyear time between marriage and childbirth. It is a case of ethnic cleansing, way of controlling the population. Coming from that source it is a bad thing. If People Choose to do that. In south sudan we try to encourage people if they were struggling it is hard enough to take care of one child let alone more. But this is a different thing. This is ethnic cleansing. The feeling i was left with was one of oppression and being trapped and hopelessness, no options. It is not a hopeless situation. Actress judy collins lost her son to suicide. She talked about her book advocating for Suicide Prevention. Suicide. She talked about her book advocating for Suicide Prevention. We are back this morning. We will be focusing on Suicide Prevention. ,e want to welcome judy collins awardwinning singer and songwriter and author of this book. Madigan whoy john is Vice President for Public Policy at the American Association for Suicide Prevention. Talk about why this is an important cause for you personally. Collins i am a survivor of my own Suicide Attempt as well as the suicide of my son. Im am here because i believe that education is the best way to deal with suicide. Breaking the taboo of discussing it. History part of the Human History for so many decades. We are beginning to break through that. Because this foundation has been so helpful in bringing it into the public view and also letting people know that the thing to do was talk about it. Educated about it and be part of the solution. What you hope to accomplish . Judy collins . I would like to have people on the case of Insurance Companies. They have decided to be my doctor and what they will pay for. Schneiderman ed started the first Suicide Prevention hotline in 1949 in los angeles. Him you will want to take the word suicide out of there. He has we cant say suicide in public. What has happened is that the Insurance Companies have hijacked the brain. I was very lucky because i had therapy. I had therapy for as long as i needed it and it was paid for by my insurance. They cant get the longterm talk therapy that one needs. Lobby the Insurance Companies and tell them they have to stop living up to their ideas which is to make more money and to pay for the help that people who need help with Mental Health need to have. That is my purpose here. The only thing that i know that Suicide Prevention. Is that i prevented my own suicide. I want to welcome our viewers to start dialing in. John madigan, layout for our viewers how big of a problem this is. Madigan suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in this country. It is going the wrong way. We know of 40,000 plus suicides each year. Leading causend of death for 10 to 24yearolds. T is a big big problem i have fought the cancer wars but to judys point it is time we understand that we cant separate the mind from the body. Law Must Companies by treat physical and Mental Health issues equally. It is going to take some time. The Insurance Companies are studying the regulations so that if you are allowed to visit your heart dr. You have to be able to visit your Mental Health the samefor at least number of visits. We didnt talk about cancer in the 60s. We didnt talk about aids in the 70s. We can talk about alzheimers until a few years ago. We have to let people understand that Mental Health issues are no different from diabetes, heart disease. It is located talk about it and it is ok to get help. What are the challenges with Mental Health parity . Madigan the law is in place. Mental Health Professionals because some of them feel they are not getting reimbursed at the proper rate, many of them dont take insurance. You have to go pay for the care up front. And then submit your bill to your Insurance Company and get reimbursed. Budget,e on a tight that is a real problem. It is a multifaceted issue. We are working on it. The good news is that Mental Health is a bipartisan issue. We have friends on both sides of the aisle. There will be a major bill introduced in this congress by tim murphy of pennsylvania and ,enator cassidy from louisiana major Mental Health care reform. Rangel look at the whole of Mental Health services and how they are delivered, reimbursement fees for doctors. T will be monumental it is a long time coming. Collins, tell our viewers your personal story. It began as a teenager. I was in a very pressured life even then. There is no reason for suicide. Anybody can have any reason they might have in life and the life can present terrible problems that have to be solved. It would destroy my parents and i had succeeded. I was 14 years old. I took a lot of pills. Nobody then talk about it. My son was an alcoholic as i am. He was recovering. I am recovering for many years from alcoholism. Alcoholism and drug addiction are good paths to suicide. My son had seven years of sobriety before he relapsed and then he took his life. His fathers father had taken his life. I have to Say Something about the things that are available that dont cost money. People to talk to. People that are your friends. Groups that are free. You can go online and find recovery groups you have to pay anything for. You can look at your diet and clear out the junk. Clear out the booze. Learn how not to drink. People of diabetes have to face it on a daily basis. Sugar and carbs and grains are dangerous. Alcohol is a depressant. Drinking means that you are liable. I was suicidally bent over the years i was drinking for 23 years. Things,hat there are homeopathic things that are free. The combination of getting some help from a professional and to doing what the things are that you can do to save your own life. It is vital to Suicide Prevention. I know the most about my own Suicide Prevention. I amsuicide survivor, dozens of times more likely to take my own life than someone who hasnt survived the suicide of a loved one. My job today is to stay actress ellen page receive the vanguard award for her stance on human rights. This is 20 minutes. Ellen papers in the Human Rights Campaign toward this is 20 minutes. Oh my god. I am so lucky and excited and great goal to be here. Am so tallny is i that i cant read the teleprompter, so i have to take my high heels off. Im not even kidding. Ok, i didnt get a pedicure, i hope you cannot see my toes. Dont pan down. I am so excited to be here tonight, it has been so long since i have been here. I got off my plane and i went into a time or, and i ran to the west wing to hug jed bartlet and iran into Frank Underwood and i ran into Frank Underwood. I was grateful i did not run into trump. Did i say that out loud . Im not my day grew so much better when i remember. The real reason i am here tonight is to honor ellen page. [cheers and applause] with the Human Rights Campaign vanguard award. I have had the personal pleasure of working with alan on ellen, on and off screen. Acting with her is a pure joy. She is incredibly present, accessible, generous, and my favorite trait in any person, she doesnt take herself too seriously, which i love. Whenever i spend time with her offscreen, i always leave her feeling that i am a better person, that i have learned something from her that she has taught me about the world, the beauty in the world. And she is such an amazing person, and i am so grateful to have her in my life. Her intelligence is profound. Her heart is huge. Her willingness to put herself out there, to expose injustice, at times at great risk to her own personal safety is nothing short of inspiring. She is truly one of those individuals in my life and in yours who lives the truth about who she is, and who she loves. [applause] she inspires us all with her enthusiasm, her compassion, and above all her authenticity. For all youths and especially lgbtq teens, struggling with their identities and feelings in a world that can be so cruel, intimidating and cautious, ellen is is a powerful inspiration. Her willingness to speak her truth, and to confront injustice against lgbtq people has made her a remarkable role model, and i cannot think of anybody more deserving of a N