Cleveland Pastor Calls for Expanded Mental Health Support

Rev. Dr. Napoleon Harris urges community to 'double the plate' to address overburdened mental health system.

Mar. 22, 2026 at 9:25am

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In a guest column, Rev. Dr. Napoleon Harris, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, argues that the mental health system is overloaded and that society needs to 'double the plate' to provide the necessary support. He draws an analogy to a picnic, where one doubles the plate to handle all the food, saying the same principle applies to mental wellness - people are carrying heavy 'plates' without adequate support, leading to breakdowns and violence. Harris calls for building the promised mental health infrastructure, shattering stigma, and treating mental health as a fundamental human right through universal healthcare.

Why it matters

Mental health issues are increasingly visible in society, with incidents of violence and crisis often making headlines. However, Harris argues the most troubled individuals often go unnoticed, choosing 'death over life, punishment over prevention, and incarceration over intervention.' He says the true crime is the lack of universal, comprehensive healthcare to address mental wellness as a critical public health issue.

The details

Harris uses the analogy of a picnic plate overflowing with food to describe the heavy burden people are carrying in terms of parenting, financial pressures, and the weight of systemic oppression. He says the 'body keeps the score' and the mind does too, with unaddressed mental health issues leading to breakdowns and violence. Harris calls for building the promised mental health 'receiving center' in Cleveland so people in crisis can get help instead of handcuffs, and mobilizing for comprehensive universal healthcare that treats mental wellness as a fundamental human right.

  • The column was published on March 22, 2026.

The players

Rev. Dr. Napoleon Harris

The pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland and the author of the guest column.

Bessel van der Kolk

A psychiatrist and author who has written about how trauma affects the mind and body.

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What they’re saying

“Mental unwellness is filling up our newsfeeds with violence, and it is high time we do more than pray and hold vigils, it's time we build the infrastructure that catches people before they fall.”

— Rev. Dr. Napoleon Harris, Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church

“It is truly criminal that the wealthiest nation on earth is morally indigent.”

— Rev. Dr. Napoleon Harris, Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church

What’s next

The city of Cleveland has promised to build a new mental health 'receiving center' to provide crisis intervention services, but the timeline for this project is still unclear.

The takeaway

This column highlights the urgent need to treat mental health as a critical public health issue and invest in comprehensive, universal healthcare that destigmatizes and prioritizes mental wellness. The author argues society must 'double the plate' to provide the necessary support and infrastructure to address the growing mental health crisis.