From the CTKG Cabinet: Maddy's White House Interview with Kalisha Figures

Hi everyone, I am CTKG Cabinet Member Maddy Sweet, and I wanted to provide an update on some of the things I've been doing since joining the Kid Governor's Cabinet!

Last month I got to go to the White House where I had the amazing opportunity to meet with Kalisha Figures who is the Special Assistant to President Biden for Gender Policy!  The Gender Policy Council has been focusing on mental health for women and girls and I had the chance to talk about my platform of Kids and Anxiety with her. 

Here is a summary of my questions for her and what we talked about!

How important is the issue of Kids and Anxiety to President Biden?

The issue of childhood mental health is incredibly important to both the President and Vice President.  The pandemic has had an especially large impact on kids’ mental health and the Biden Administration has made it a priority across a number of different councils including the Domestic Policy Council and Health and Human Services. 

It's also especially important to President Biden we listen to what kids themselves have to say about mental health! We can’t just talk to grownups about how kids are feeling – we need to ask kids themselves. 

What work has the Gender Policy Council been doing to help kids with anxiety?

We know that women and girls experience anxiety and depression in some really specific ways and we want to make sure that we understand the ways gender impacts mental health.  Vice President Kamala Harris is especially focused on how girls experience mental healthy through things like online harassment for example.  Also, women, girls, people of color and immigrant families may perceive and experience mental health struggles differently and we need to work to understand those differences so we can help everyone.

Do you think the issue of kids and anxiety is something both parties can work together on?

Kids mental health is ABSOLUTELY something that both parties can work together on!  It’s one of the small number of things that everyone agrees on because anyone can struggle with things like anxiety no matter where in the country you are!

*****

Before we talked I had a chance to walk around the White House Executive Office Building and I noticed some really cool things!

First of all, did you know that the White House has a cafeteria?  It does and they serve a lot of the same things we have in our school cafeteria (like hamburgers and chicken fingers).  

One of the coolest parts of my day was getting to eat in the White House cafeteria!  I also saw that the White House has a “calm down room” – just like the classroom calm down spaces that I campaigned for as part of my Kid Governor platform! I guess even grown ups in the White House get anxious and need a quite space to calm down.  

Finally, I saw that the White House has a bunch of libraries.  I got to visit two of them and the White House librarian even gave me an honorary library card!  

It was such a cool day visiting the White House and getting to see how important the issue of Kids and Anxiety is to the Biden Administration!

Thank you for reading, and please email me at Cabinet@CT.KidGovernor.org if you're making a difference on the issue of Kids and Anxiety in your community!

Madelyn Sweet 

2022 Kid Governor Cabinet 

Dr. Thomas S. O’Connell School

East Hartford