You're listening to Voices of Your Village, and today I get to bring you such an incredible guest. I got to hang out with Congresswoman Becca Balint to chat about improving mental health outcomes through government funding. Representative Balint is a mom, a teacher, a progressive leader who comes to Washington ready to fight for working families. Becca's the first woman and openly LGBTQ plus person to represent her home state of Vermont. She's the daughter of a working class mother and immigrant father, and Becca is deeply committed to defending American democracy and protecting vulnerable communities. While the majority leader of the Vermont State Senate, Becca led the passage of the first gun safety laws in the state's history aimed at keeping Vermont children, communities, and survivors of abuse safe. She received her B .A. from Smith College in Northampton, Mass., graduating magna cum laude in Phi Beta Kappa. Becca earned her Master's in Education from Harvard University in 1995 and her Master's in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2001. She's married to noted attorney and opera singer Elizabeth Wohl. Together they have two children, Abe and Sarah, who are 16 and 13, and an adorable dog named Wheelie. They live in Brattleboro, Vermont, and it was such a pleasure to get to hang out with the Congresswoman. She just gets it, like it's so real, and she cares about mental health. And we got to have such a rad discussion about that and what it looks like for there to be funding, and what that would mean for us as a nation if we funded mental health supports. We talk about early childhood education and the role that that plays in supporting mental health long -term. I am so grateful for those who dedicate their lives to trying to make our nation and our world for our tiny humans better. Thanks, Congresswoman. Stay tuned for the end when Rachel and I hang and chat about the episode, breaking it down for you in real life. All right, folks, let's dive in. 

Connect with Becca:

Instagram: @repbeccab 

Website: https://balint.house.gov/

Connect with us:

Instagram: @seed.and.sew 

Podcast page: Voices of Your Village

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Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound

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