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Representative Kelly shares familys experiences with cancer and mental-health outreach in floor privilege remarks
Summary
In a House Rule 9.2 personal-privilege address, Representative Kelly recounted family illnesses and a consequential friendship that led him to emphasize the importance of one-on-one outreach for people struggling with mental health.
Representative Kelly used a Rule 9.2 personal-privilege floor statement to describe his familys medical struggles and how a friendship with someone who had contemplated suicide changed his outlook.
Kelly spoke at length about his daughters leukemia, his wifes later diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer, and his sons surgeries. He described withdrawing during those years and then reconnecting with a person he had first reached out to online; that relationship, he said, helped reconstruct him and brought the family closer to others in need. Kelly urged colleagues to remember the personal effects of listening when someone seeks help and to consider the two-way nature of supportive relationships.
"When somebody comes to you and tells you they need help, I'd like you to remember first of all, they came to you," Kelly said on the floor. He said that professional resources and hotlines are important but urged members to "take the time to listen" and noted the personal impact of one-to-one interventions.
Kelly closed by addressing a friend he named on the floor and thanking that person for the role they played in his life. His remarks were delivered during a period when the House was awaiting the governor's arrival and preceded procedural adjournment actions later in the session.
