US sprinter shares his mental health experience with Second Gentleman – The Register-Guard

Although Noah Lyles is not the only athlete to face struggles with his mental health, he is one of the most well-known for his outspoken attitude toward seeking therapy and resources and pushing other young athletes to do the same.

Lyles, a member of Team USA at the World Athletics Championships and a 2020 Olympic bronze medalist for the 200m, met with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and University of Oregon officials Friday to share his experience and the importance of putting funding into solutions for the mental health crisis.

If somebody is brave enough to speak out, its probably not a phase," Lyles said to the group.

Lyles said he never imagined being able to have this sort of discussion with government figures. When he initially spoke out about his mental health on social media, his hope was to reach at least one person.

"I was constantly asking myself, Why am I so angry? Why am I acting this way toward people that have not warranted any type of aggression? " Lyles said. "That was a signal. OK. I need to talk to somebody.' "

Lyles' mom, Keisha Caine, who was also a professional track athlete who trained for the Olympics, was the one who instilled Lyles' value of mental health. In searching for her own identity outside of competition, she sought therapy. Lyles said she recognized her children would need therapy and other mental health supports as well and entered them into therapy sessions at a young age.

UO College of Education Dean Laura Lee McIntyre said the effort for providing mental health services falls to the whole community.

Not everyone has the privilege of having a parent whos as involved and as devoted, who has the time to do that. Not everyone has your mom," McIntyre said to Lyles.

"When we think about what we can do in our communities, weve got to level the playing field."

There also needs to be a push for the next generation to enter into the behavioral health field, she said, because there are not enough services currently.

The group agreed more robust services are needed, which can be aided by additional funding.

Emhoff pointed to destigmitization being a good place to start.

"A lot of the times it's 'No one saw me. No one heard me. I felt alone,'" Emhoff said. "If we can destigmatize it and make it OK and make it a part of our normal, everyday conversations ... we can literally save lives."

Brown commended Lyles for speaking out about his mental health journey and hopes that others will have that same courage.

"I think it's just amazing that we are having this conversation today at the University of Oregon with the World Athletics Championships just happening outside the window," Brown said. "I think it's incredibly important that courageous athletes like Noah speak out. I think it's important that courageous Black men like Noah speak out, because that is what is going to change our society."

UO established the Ballmer Institute for Childrens Behavioral Health in March that has a focus on mental health outreach for children. They are funded by $425 million with the "Ballmer Gift."

Brown thanked UO for its research on behavioral health and the Ballmer Institute. The institute is intended to research and extend services to surrounding K-12 facilities.

On a statewide level, Brown added the new 988 suicide and crisis help line will launch Saturday. The hotline offers 24-hour services.

New institute:University of Oregon to create new institute for behavioral health with $425 million gift

Oregon has struggled in terms of tackling behavioral health for the last several years," Brown said. "Im very, very pleased to see that our legislature was willing to commit significant resources to both diversifying our workforce, behavioral health workforce pipeline, as well as making sure our students have access to important services that they need to be successful.

She and the other officials thanked the Biden-Harris administration for its commitment to expanding mental health resources.

The administration has invested nearly $4 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to expand access to mental health and substance use services. President Biden's fiscal year 2023 budget also proposes over $27 billion in discretionary funding and another $100 billion in mandatory funding over 10 years to transform behavioral health services.

"Behavioral health is an issue that impacts all of us," Brown said. "We all have family members whove struggled. What I appreciate about Oregon is that this an issue that we can set aside political differences, and that we all agree (on this)."

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her atmcyr@registerguard.comor find her on Twitter@mirandabcyr.

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US sprinter shares his mental health experience with Second Gentleman - The Register-Guard