Right now, hundreds of mental health professionals in Los Angeles are entering their sixth month on strike — and eight of them have taken the extraordinary step of going on a hunger strike. Why? Because they're fighting for the basic dignity every worker deserves: fair pay, decent benefits, and the time they need to care for both their patients and themselves.

These are the people we trust with our darkest moments. They support us through grief, trauma, addiction, anxiety, depression, yet they’re being forced to skip meals, raid savings, and borrow money from loved ones just to survive.

Some are literally starving to be heard.

Mental health is health. And these workers aren’t asking for luxuries, they’re asking for the same pension as other Kaiser Permanente employees. They’re asking for wages equal to peers with similar training. They’re asking for time to eat lunch, go to the bathroom, and complete their paperwork between clients. The bare minimum.

While Kaiser Permanente touts its commitment to mental health care, the truth is clear: overworked and underpaid professionals can’t provide the quality care we all deserve. And the cost of this neglect is already showing up in long wait times, burnt-out therapists, and lives falling through the cracks.

California has taken steps toward mental health parity. Now it’s time for Kaiser to do the same — not in words, but in action.

We call on Kaiser Permanente to meet these workers at the bargaining table in good faith. Pay them what they’re worth. Provide the benefits they’ve earned. Show the world that mental health care matters.

Katia Riddle/NPR