The Mental Health Association Oklahoma has announced Carrie Blumert as its new Chief Executive Officer.

She spoke with Dave Davis on News On 6 at 9 about her new job and her goals to help people with mental health.

Dave: Well, you've got to be very anxious to get started at MHA. Tell me a little bit about that and your background.

Carrie: So, I will start October 1 as the CEO of Mental Health Association Oklahoma. I currently serve as a county commissioner in Oklahoma County, representing District One. I've been in that role since 2019, so I will actually step down early. This is an elected position, currently, that I'm in. I will step down early because leading the Mental Health Association Oklahoma is a dream job, and I couldn't say no, it's really such an honor to get to do this work and help grow the organization in Oklahoma. So, I start in a couple of weeks.

Dave: Yeah, as you talk about it being an honor and a dream job, what makes you say that? What about your background makes you say this is what I was looking for?

Carrie: So, my background is public health and social work, and the reason why I ran for county commissioner about six, eight years ago was to help folks experiencing mental illness, keep them out of jail, get them into permanent supportive housing, get people off the street. That really is the thing I'm most passionate about, and I got to work on that quite a bit as a county commissioner. Of course, we oversee the county jail and got to work on a lot of programs that helped folks stay out of jail or not come back to jail and really get the help that they needed. At the Mental Health Association, I will get to do that full-time. If your viewers are familiar with the Mental Health Association, the main service they offer is permanent supportive housing for people coming off the street who are experiencing homelessness, and who also have some type of mental illness. And I'm sure you all have seen folks out in your community who really just need help, and that is what the Mental Health Association is here to do.

Dave: Carrie, you have ties to Tulsa as well, and again, you're one of the Oklahoma County Commissioners. Now tell me, are the needs similar or different between the OKC metro and Tulsa? What is the compare and contrast there?

Carrie: Yeah. So, I am from Bartlesville. That's where I graduated high school and where some of my family still lives. The needs are very similar in Tulsa and Oklahoma City; a lot of unsheltered people need access to treatment and support. So, the communities themselves have, you know, kind of a different feel. The needs, I would say, are pretty similar, which is why MHA is a statewide organization, maybe someday we will grow outside of the two metro areas, but for now, our focus is Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Dave: And do you feel like, as part of your job, it is to help find a solution for homelessness? Something that I know people in Tulsa, citizens have said that they're concerned about overall. Do you think that's a major part of your job? What percentage of your job do you think will be around those who are not housed?

Carrie: A lot of it. There are a lot of reasons why folks become unhoused, but the root of a lot of the issues is people getting access to affordable health care and affordable mental health care, especially when someone is on the street and they're experiencing severe mental illness. If they had had treatment and support five years ago, 10 years ago, they may not be in the situation they're in now, Mental Health Association connects folks with with treatment, but our main bread and butter is getting folks into housing. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Housing First. It's a model of support that gets people into housing first thing before they get the treatment they need. Let's get you into a safe, stable place to live, and then you are much more likely to get the help that you need and stay on stay on track. So Housing First is kind of the bread and butter of the Mental Health Association. And we're excited; I'm excited to work with other nonprofits, other state agencies, and other local agencies across the whole state to find a solution to homelessness, and a lot of it is access to affordable housing and affordable health care.