[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 681 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 681

    Supporting the designation of May 10, 2024, as ``National Asian 
  American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Mental Health Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2024

 Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Cortez Masto, 
Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, Mr. Padilla, 
 Mr. Schatz, and Ms. Warren) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Supporting the designation of May 10, 2024, as ``National Asian 
  American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Mental Health Day''.

Whereas the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (referred to 
        in this preamble as ``AANHPI'') community is among the fastest growing 
        population groups in the United States and has made significant 
        economic, cultural, and social contributions;
Whereas the AANHPI community is extremely diverse in terms of socioeconomic 
        background, education level, types of employment, languages spoken, 
        cultures of origin, acculturation, and migration and colonization 
        status;
Whereas AANHPIs have among the lowest rates of utilization of mental health 
        services, and 63.7 percent of the estimated 2,600,000 AANHPIs who meet 
        criteria for a mental health problem do not receive treatment;
Whereas, from 2018 to 2020, AANHPI youth ages 10 to 24 years old in the United 
        States were the only racial or ethnic population in this age category 
        whose leading cause of death was suicide;
Whereas it is imperative to disaggregate AANHPI population data to get an 
        accurate representation of the depth and breadth of the mental health 
        issues for each subpopulation, so that specific culturally and 
        linguistically appropriate solutions can be developed;
Whereas language access continues to be a critical issue whether due to the 
        limited number of providers with the necessary language skills to 
        provide in-language services or the significant language loss faced by 
        Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities due to colonization;
Whereas there is a need to significantly increase the number of providers, 
        including paraprofessionals, representing AANHPI communities and provide 
        them with necessary training and ongoing support;
Whereas historical discrimination and current racial violence toward AANHPIs 
        increase trauma and stress, underlying precursors to mental health 
        problems;
Whereas there is a critical need to raise awareness about, and improve mental 
        health literacy among, the AANHPI community to reduce the stigma 
        associated with mental health issues; and
Whereas May is both National Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific 
        Islander Heritage Month, an opportunity to celebrate the vast 
        contributions of this population to the society of the United States, 
        and National Mental Health Awareness Month, recognizing the importance 
        of mental health to the well-being and health of families and 
        communities and connecting the importance of one's cultural heritage to 
        good mental health: Now, therefore be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the designation of May 10, 2024, ``National 
        Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Mental 
        Health Day'';
            (2) recognizes the importance of mental health to the well-
        being and health of families and communities;
            (3) acknowledges the importance of raising awareness about 
        mental health and improving the quality of care for Asian 
        American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities;
            (4) recognizes that celebrating one's cultural and 
        linguistic heritage is beneficial to mental health; and
            (5) encourages Federal, State, and local health agencies to 
        adopt laws, policies, and guidance to improve help-seeking 
        rates for mental health services for the Asian American, Native 
        Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community and other communities 
        of color.
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