May is Mental Health Awareness month, and a North Carolina state lawmaker is opening up about her family’s struggles.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Mental Health Awareness Month begins, a North Carolina legislator is sharing her family’s personal struggles to spotlight the importance of mental health and substance use services across the state.
Rep. Carla Cunningham, who represents Mecklenburg County, has been candid about her son’s decades-long battle with mental health issues, which began when he was 14 years old.
“We did therapy for quite a while, and of course, it did get to the point where he had to be hospitalized for six weeks,” Cunningham said.
The Democratic lawmaker recalled taking her son to a behavioral health facility in Mecklenburg County 28 years ago, during a time when mental health was rarely discussed openly.
“I know what it is to be almost bankrupt because during the time my son was diagnosed, mental health insurance, even if you had insurance, only covered 50%,” she said.
Cunningham pointed to North Carolina’s recent Medicaid expansion as evidence of the critical need for mental health services. Since the program expanded, she has observed a significant increase in people seeking help.
“We had people come in to use the substance use services and mental health services because they didn’t have the funding until now,” Cunningham said.
Acknowledging that the mental health system can be difficult to navigate, Cunningham recently hosted a town hall meeting to connect constituents with resources such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and the North Carolina Peer Warmline.
“That Warmline is not necessarily that you are thinking about committing suicide or you’re in crisis at the moment, but you may have something on your mind that you don’t want to share with certain people,” she said.
Cunningham expressed that she wishes such resources had been available during her son’s early struggles with mental illness.
“We had been going back and forth to the hospital more than three times a year sometimes,” she noted.
WCNC Charlotte will host a mental health resources phone bank on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., connecting callers with local organizations that provide mental health support.
Mental health advocates say personal stories from public figures like Cunningham help reduce stigma and encourage others to seek help when needed.
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If you or a loved one are facing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, there is help readily available. You can call Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat with them online. There are also resources in North Carolina available here and in South Carolina available here.
