Mental health group awards Windy Boy

State Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, will receive a Hero Award from the Montana branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Windy Boy was praised by NAMI-Montana, which advocates for the mentally ill in the state, for his work on a legislative interim committee that drafted many of the reforms that were approved in the 2015 session of the Montana Legislature.

Matt Kuntz, NAMI-Montana executive director, said the award is given to "recognize people and organizations who have made extraordinary efforts to improve the lives of Montanans who live with serious mental illness and their families."

Kuntz called the 2015 session "an incredibly productive year," with several pieces of landmark legislation being approved and signed by Gov. Steve Bullock.

He cited the interim committee which provided "historic leadership in adult, children's crisis, and transition services that have the potential to prevent tragedies and long-term hospitalizations for years to come."

Windy Boy said he was proud of the work he did to advance Bullock's proposals in the Legislature, and said he would continue his work on behalf of the mentally ill.

He said mental illness has caused problems on the Native reservations of the state. His district includes Rocky Boy, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck reservations and many farms and ranches adjacent to the reservations.

But, he said the problems extend far beyond the reservation borders.

"We are all in this together," he said.

He said many of the problems facing society - on the reservation and non-reservation - are connected to mental illness.

Drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and violent crime often have roots in mental illness, he said.

He said he's especially interested in helping young people who are affected, sometimes for life, by seeing domestic abuse in their family.

He said he was traumatized by witnessing abuse in his family when he was young.

"These issues are huge and there is no quick fix," he said. "We have a long way to go so we all, tribal and on-tribal, need to roll up our sleeves."