Electronic Spring 2023 | Issue 54

State Representative Lindsey LaPointe with IPS at Area 4 Legislative Institute 

By: Kenneth Busch MD, Susan Scherer MD, and Sudhakar Shenoy MD

It was an absolute honor and privilege for IPS to join State Representative Lindsey LaPointe at the annual Legislative Institute hosted by Area 4 of the APA Assembly. The institute was part of Area 4’s winter meeting focusing on advocacy and legislative affairs on Capitol Hill and in the surrounding states in the region.

Prior to becoming a full time legislator, Representative LaPointe received a master’s degree in social work from the Jane Adams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois in Chicago and worked on justice reform and addressing homelessness. Since 2019 she is serving as Representative for the 19th district in the Illinois House on the northwest side of Chicago. Representative LaPointe was our Keynote Speaker at the institute and shared her views on mental health and ways to make improvement.

Of particular importance was the recent appointment of Representative LaPointe to Chair the House Mental Health and Addiction Committee in the 103rd General Assembly in Springfield. In her presentation she talked about collaboration and partnerships with psychiatrists and other professionals to address a wide variety of mental health challenges facing our communities.

Some of the top priorities include greater access to care, reducing stigma, expanding telehealth therapy, mental health and wellness programs and working with people experiencing homelessness and addiction as well as addressing special needs for children and adolescents. Other important issues for Representative LaPointe consist of building up the behavioral health workforce and ensuring access to trauma-informed behavioral support for victims of gun violence. The Keynote presentation was the highlight of the Legislative Institute, and she received a wide round of applause afterwards.

In her leadership position she is currently working with the Governor on the budget to make investments for affordable and accessible mental health care for everyone in Illinois. We also had the opportunity to talk with Representative LaPointe about serving as a resource to her. She was glad to hear that, and we discussed ways to partner with her.

IPS thanks Representative LaPointe for her wonderful efforts to make things better. She is a true champion for mental health in Illinois and we look forward to working with her. We express our deepest gratitude to her for making the institute so successful and look forward to working with Representative LaPointe in the future.