Longtime legislator gets national award for helping mentally ill
State Rep. Jimmie Lee of Elizabethtown, left, today received the national Jacob K. Javits Award, an honor given to legislators who advocate for mental health services.
“It just blows my mind that someone from Kentucky wins, and it was me,” Lee told Marty Finley of his hometown paper, The News-Enterprise.
Lee, who has served as a legislator since 1993, was chosen for the honor due to his efforts to expand services for the mentally ill. His efforts include helping to replace the Eastern State Hospital in Lexington, obtaining funding for community mental health centers, and helping to open a new crisis stabilization unit in Louisville.
Lee is the first Kentucky legislator to be chosen for the award. To recognize his achievements, the Kentucky General Assembly passed resolutions that made today Jimmie Lee Day. (Read more)