NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) presented Senator Rich Draheim (Madison Lake) with The Legislator of the Year Award at its annual conference on November 9th at Saint Paul RiverCentre. The Legislator of the Year Award recognizes legislators who have been leaders and outspoken advocates for people with mental illnesses and their families in the Minnesota Legislature or Congress. 

Senator Draheim, serving his third term in the Senate, is a member of the Jobs and Economic Development, Housing and Homeless Prevention, and Finance Committees. He has worked closely with NAMI Minnesota on a number of ideas and innovations to fix Minnesota’s mental health crisis. 

“I am so grateful for this honor,” Senator Draheim said. “Being recognized as NAMI’s Legislator of the Year truly means a lot. Working together on mental health issues – especially in supporting children and people in crisis – has been one of the most rewarding and important aspects of my years of public service. I couldn’t have done this without our partnership. We’ve come a long way, but there’s more to do, and I’m looking forward to all we will continue to accomplish together for Minnesota.” 

“Senator Draheim has consistently supported addressing our workforce shortage, especially in rural Minnesota,” Sue Abderholden, NAMI Minnesota’s executive director, explained. “And he has been particularly supportive of expanding care to children with mental illnesses and their families.” 

Representative Peter Fischer, who has represented House District 44A for six terms, serves as chair of the Human Services Policy Committee and sits on the Human Services Finance and Health Finance and Policy Committees, also received a Legislator of the Year award. 

According to Abderholden, the human services bill that passed in 2022 was thanks to the joint work of Representative Fischer and Senator Draheim. The bill contained NAMI Minnesota and the Mental Health Legislative Network’s work on competency restoration and an additional $92 million to address the needs of Minnesota’s mental health system.