[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF A BEBE MOORE CAMPBELL 
            NATIONAL MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 19, 2008

  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Con. 
Res. 134, to establish July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority 
Mental Health Awareness Month. The plight of families suffering from 
mental illness is immense due to an absence of adequate social services 
and the unwarranted stigma surrounding mental health issues. Due to the 
unwarranted social stigma and a systemic failure to ensure health care 
coverage, over two-thirds of the people who suffer from mental illness 
go untreated according to the Department of Health and Human Services. 
Within minority communities, even greater needs exist for mental health 
services. African Americans have less access to mental health services, 
and often receive an inferior quality of care. Higher rates of 
uninsured individuals also compound this problem within minority 
communities.
  According to the National Institute on Mental Health, 20 percent of 
children and 26.2 percent of adults suffer from a diagnosable mental 
disorder in a given year. As the leading cause of disability in the 
U.S., many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given 
time. The need for mental health awareness is immense, particularly in 
the minority community.
  Sadly, Bebe Moore Campbell's untimely death from brain cancer means 
that she is not here to see the passage of this resolution. However, it 
is comforting to know that her legacy lives on not only through her 
literature but also through this important resolution. I strongly 
believe that this resolution and the establishment of July as Bebe 
Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month will 
address and raise awareness in minority communities of the existence of 
mental illness and the need for mental health services.
  I am honored to remember Bebe Moore Campbell, a premier journalist, 
who authored a children's book entitled, Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry, 
winner of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill's Outstanding 
Literature Award. Through this story of how a little girl copes with 
being reared by a mentally ill mother, Moore Campbell was able to raise 
public awareness on mental health issues and heighten the consciousness 
of this topic within minority communities.

  I proudly join my colleagues in support of this resolution and will 
continue to work tirelessly as an advocate for increased mental health 
services.

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