 Crowing County mental health advocates hosted a mental health day at home to have a discussion with legislators about the status of mental health services in the county. Logan Gay has more. 60 million Americans are affected by mental illness each year. The mental day at home was an opportunity for mental health advocates to talk with legislators about the unmet needs in the mental health industry. Some of them that we found out were housing, mental health issues in our jails and are incarcerated, homelessness, transportation, lack of funding, lack of beds. Mental illness can affect people of all ages. In the cope some people turn to self-medicating. I'm a co-incuring disorder and so I tried using drugs to cover up my mental health and that didn't work. So in order to start recovery I needed to be sober. Mental illness is not something that should be hidden. I think mental illness needs to be talked about. I think it needs to be addressed because that's the only way for recovery is by talking about it is by recognizing that there is a problem and we can help. Senator Kerry Rood believes the issue can no longer be ignored. I think in Minnesota we're facing a crisis right now and we don't have enough beds and we're using our jails for mental health facilities and we've been coming a long way and trying to figure it out but I think we're not there yet and before we get to the crisis point which we're almost there I think we need to really address this issue. They are planning to make the mental day at home in annual events and Brainerd Logan Gay, Lakeland News. If you or someone you know is dealing with mental illness you can contact the crisis line and referral service for help. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.