Florida remains the 49th state for funding of mental health programs. Southwest Florida's behavioral health care system is under-funded. Over 800,000 people have serious mental health issues in Florida. In Lee county alone, there is about 34,000 kids with serious mental health problems. Mental health problems in kids can arise from many factors such as poverty, neglect or abuse due to parents being addicted to opioids, grief of death of a family member, or bullying.  I will work with local children services advocates, and mental health professionals and counselors to create a healthier and safer environment for our children, so they can strengthen their education and get appropriate mental counseling and treatment if needed. There needs to be a better system implemented to facilitate communication between the different providers and health agencies who care for these patients, because another main issues is the lack of communication between those who treat these patients. I will work tirelessly to get our legislature to fund mental health facilities and hire/recruit more mental health professionals, so we can appropriately and diligently treat those with this debilitating disease.