Darma Diaz won her City Council seat last November, but she has been battling for help for those with serious mental illness for more than 10 years. Diaz joined In Focus to talk about the need for mental health help that has always been there, but grew exponentially in the past 14 months, when facilities were forced to close, medication became less accessible and the need, especially for those living on the streets, became much worse. 

Her district in Brooklyn suffers the highest level of poverty, and that means, she says, her constituents suffer the greatest disparities when it comes to getting help for mental illness. She also takes the city to task for not being prepared for the overwhelming need that hit her district, and the entire city, when the pandemic hit.