Debbie Plotnick ’02, M.S.S. & M.L.S.P. ’04, Featured for Mental Health Work
A recent article by Marjorie Cortez features the work of Debbie Plotnick ’02, M.S.S. & M.L.S.P. ’04, who is the Executive Vice President for State and Federal Advocacy at Mental Health America.
The article tells the story of how Plotnick teamed up with Michael Sodini, a former gun industry businessman who now heads Walk the Talk America.
Sodini decided the industry needed to do more to prevent suicides by firearms, so he reached out to Plotnick and Mental Health America about ideas he had for connecting gun owners with mental health resources.
From the article:
According to Sodini’s account of the meeting on the Walk The Talk America’s website, “We spent the day listening to legislators talk about their initiatives to increase federal funding and raise awareness of the many issues the mental health industry faces. Many of these speakers shared their personal stories of both victories and losses, which was all very humbling for me.”
Sodini invited Plotnick to the SHOT Show, which was unfamiliar territory for her but she agreed to go.
“So what does this non-gun affiliated person from Philadelphia, who’s from the urban environment, who doesn’t know anything about any of this, do? People were wonderful to me because I wanted to hear from them. I didn’t want to talk at them. I wanted to talk to them,” she said.
That was six years ago. Since then, Sodini and Plotnick have continued to work together to reduce suicide by firearms. Most recently, they spoke at Stop Stigma Together, a three-day national summit surrounding mental illness and substance use disorders.
"Mental Health America and Walk the Talk America joined forces so that people who own firearms are not afraid to reach out for help when they need it," Plotnick says. "And so that folks with mental health needs and/or providers are not afraid to speak about owning firearms."