Voting on agenda at mental health meeting

Experts from across the state met in St. Paul on Saturday for the National Alliance on Mental Health's annual state conference.

Among the topics being discussed is how voting affects mental health.

"Voting can be a scary process for a lot of folks," said Matt Burdick, a researcher for the National Alliance's state chapter. "And people living with a mental illness are one of the demographics that are underrepresented at the polls. So we want to do as much as we can to make people both understand that their vote does matter, their voice does matter, and to feel comfortable with that process."

Burdick said part of healing is overcoming that fear.

"Part of mental health recovery is engaging in your community and feeling like you're contributing to your community and really being an active member of society," he said, "and voting is one of the most important ways that we do contribute to society and we do become an active member of a community."

Burdick also said that voters should make sure they understand where candidates stand on issues such as health care reform, housing and employment.

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