[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 74 (Thursday, May 23, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H2917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MENTAL HEALTH MONTH

  (Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, May is Mental Health Month--has been 
and will continue to be. It is an opportunity to raise awareness and 
encourage others to get help and to recognize the symptoms and warning 
signs of mental health issues.
  There is a lot of stigma. We must accept it as an illness. We've got 
to reduce that stigma. We must expand mental health services and give 
it the parity needed because it does not know boundaries. It affects 
everybody in every segment of our communities.
  It is all right. It's okay to ask for help and learn to recognize the 
symptoms and to learn about the service providers in your area. We must 
expand more mental health services to our community. We need it for the 
military, because one in five suffer from major depression or PTSD.
  Youth--suicide, the third leading cause of death; second for college 
students. School-based mental health services are greatly needed for 
early intervention. Minority communities--Native Americans highest 
ethnicity for suicide.
  Mental health services must be provided in languages also.
  Thank you to the mental health professionals, the 500,000 licensed 
certified professional counselors that work for us and throughout the 
United States. Thank you, President Obama, first U.S. President to 
declare May Mental Health Month.

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