Lean On Me Award Representative Dafna Michaelson

Representing House District 30 in the Colorado State Legislature, Dafna Michaelson Jenet was elected in 2016, unseating republican incumbent JoAnn Windholz.

Since taking office, her legislative work has been focused on youth, healthcare access, and mental health. Some of her key accomplishments include sponsoring HB18-1245, which eliminated the practice of conversion therapy on minors, creating the Office of the Behavioral Healthcare Ombudsman, helping lower the age of consent for minors from 15 to 12 for behavioral healthcare services, and passing HB20-1411, which set aside funding for receiving mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michelson Jenet also sponsored the Insurance Coverage Mental Health Wellness Exam Act, which allows all Coloradans to access an annual mental health examination covered by insurance, and she supported Rapid Mental Health Response for Colorado Youth, which provides three free therapy sessions to the state’s youth. This led to the creation of the “I Matter” program.

Because of the representative’s commitment to advancing mental health equity, she will be the 2022 recipient of Envision:You’s individual Lean On Me Award. 

Envision:You honors mental health leaders, allies, and advocates with this award every year at their annual Garden Party at the Denver Botanic Gardens. This year’s event will be Saturday, July 23. 

“We are honored to present the individual Lean on Me Award to Colorado State Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet,” Envision:You CEO and Co-founder Steven Haden says. “She has been a strong ally and advocate for mental health throughout her time in the legislature, and this year, she has continued her efforts by introducing bills to improve residential behavioral health services and prevent identity-based violence. Representative Michaelson Jenet recognizes the disproportionate impact of behavioral health challenges on vulnerable communities, and consistently creates policy that can offset disparities and improve the health and well-being of all Coloradans.”

OFM caught up with the representative to talk more about why mental health is such a pivotal issue. 

Representative, how does it feel to be this year’s recipient of Envision:You’s Lean On Me Award?

I’m really, really honored! I’m excited. It makes me smile a lot.

What does winning this award personally mean to you?

I’ve worked very hard for the community, specifically the LGBTQ community, and this is like feedback saying, “Yes, we see that you’re on the right track. Keep going.”

You are a major mental health advocate, and you have achieved quite a bit since being in office. Why is mental health such an important issue for you?

I grew up with a mom who struggled with mental health challenges, and I’m also a parent to a kid who struggles with mental health challenges. Then, of course, like every other American, I struggle with my own mental health challenges, but from a parent and child perspective, to watch the system not work for my family, I have this driving value which is, I won’t complain about a problem unless I’m willing to work on the solution. I bitch a lot about the mental health system (laughs). I’m keeping that promise to myself. 

As an elected official, I am sure your job can cause severe stress, anxiety, and frustration. How do you keep your own mental health and wellbeing in check?

That’s a very important question, and I’m glad that you asked it. For me, I make sure to make time for regular therapy. I take medications, and they do their job, but without the regular therapy, I end up in depressive patterns, and I can’t work as well when I’m in a depressive pattern or when my stress level is so out of control that I can’t see straight. So, making sure that I keep up with my weekly therapy during (legislative) session, which is really hard. I have a great therapist that is willing to work with me.

I also make sure on weekends, sometimes I’ll do things like go to synagogue and have my opportunity to reconnect with my community outside of the gold dome. That’s very important to my family and me.

Why do you think mental health is still an issue that’s stigmatized and often pushed aside or swept under the rug?

I think the major problem is that we don’t understand it. We don’t understand why something isn’t working the way that we think it should work. As an example, let’s say you’re a tennis player, and you have a bum elbow from all the repetitive stress on it; there is no shame in saying, “My elbow’s not quite working the way I need it to work.” However, if you say, “My mind is not working the way I need it to work,” there’s some shame and fear in that. Will people judge me, not trust me, or be afraid of me because I struggle in this way? I think that’s a big part of it.

Why do you think mental health is an even bigger issue in the LGBTQ+ community?

I think it has to do a lot with trust. There’s a feeling and a lack of trust from the public when you’re misgendered, when your pronouns are not used appropriately, or when you’re not believed when you say, “I am who I am”—That’s a direct assault on your well-being. Unless and until we make some real impact on society and change how society communicates, we’re going to be in this pattern.

What more do you hope to do to help mental health services in Colorado and those suffering from illnesses?

So, so, so much! In this legislative session, I’m working on youth beds. Basically, we have what we call the missing middle. There are emergency room beds, and there are some hospital beds, but what if you need something in between? We’re really missing that, and I’m working very hard on that. 

I was also on the behavioral health transformational passport and working on the workforce to make sure we have enough people to support the mental health needs alongside facilities that we need to help as well. 

Photos by Ali Bibbo