[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 130 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3743-S3744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH MONTH

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing July as National Minority Mental Health Month. Since 
2008, Congress has declared this month as National Minority Mental 
Health Awareness Month in honor of author, journalist and teacher Bebe 
Moore Campbell, a national agent of change who passed away in 2006.
  Thanks to President Biden, through the 988 Suicide and Crisis 
Lifeline, millions of Americans have been able to seek out help with 
nearly 5 million calls, texts, and chats that have been answered over 
the past year.
  Unfortunately, mental health is a subject that often still has stigma 
attached to it, even though mental illness touches the lives of 
millions of Americans each year.
  This month provides an opportunity to bring awareness and recommit us 
to tackling longstanding health disparities and improve the public's 
awareness of the health challenges that disproportionately affect 
racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Mental illness can 
have a devastating impact on an individual's overall health and quality 
of life. Racial and ethnic minorities often suffer from poor mental 
health outcomes due to multiple factors, including lack of access to 
quality mental health care services, cultural stigma surrounding mental 
health care, discrimination, and overall lack of awareness about mental 
health.
  Today, because of historical injustices across our society, including 
those in the healthcare system, communities of color continue to face 
health disparities that result in poorer quality of life and lower life 
expectancies when compared to their White counterparts. For people of 
color who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender--LGBT--
these disparities are often exacerbated. In 2021, according to 
estimates, only 39 percent of Black or African-American adults, 25 
percent of Asian adults, and 36 percent of Hispanic/Latino adults with 
any mental illness were treated, compared to 52 percent of non-Hispanic 
White adults.
  According to the Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Health 
Administration, American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans report 
experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder--PTSD--at double the rate of 
non-Hispanic White Veterans--20.5 percent compared to 11.6 percent.
  In 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death among Asian Americans 
and Pacific Islanders aged 10 to 19; it was the second leading cause of 
death among those aged 20 to 34.
  Mental illness also has a significant impact on our country's 
economy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--
CDC--the economic cost of mental illness in the United States was more 
than $300 billion in 2021. Fewer than half of those in need, however, 
receive any mental health care in the United States. This is simply 
unacceptable. Stigma, cost, and other barriers, such as limited 
capacity in some areas to serve all those in need, prevent many 
individuals from receiving necessary mental health care. It is 
imperative that we act to improve access to high-quality, evidence-
based mental health care services in our country.
  Maternal mental health has been an enduring issue that has stricken 
women across the Nation. The types of disorders are vast, though the 
most common include depression, anxiety, and psychosis. The 
consequences of leaving such disorders untreated are dire, as they 
impact not only the mother, but her child, and the community, as well. 
While all women are potentially susceptible to maternal mental health 
disorders, there is an evident disparity in the rates at which certain 
racial and ethnic groups are affected. Around one in seven women 
suffers specifically from postpartum depression, though mothers of 
color possess rates at around 38 percent, nearly double that of White 
mothers. Despite this alarming statistic, these mothers of color are 
still less likely to receive

[[Page S3744]]

both a diagnosis and treatment for their disorder.
  Too many children and their families do not have adequate access to 
high-quality specialty child and adolescent behavioral health care. 
Child and adolescent psychiatrists practice in a wide range of settings 
and further facilitate access to treatment through telehealth and 
collaborative care arrangements with primary care providers, schools, 
and other systems. And yet, there is still a shortage of inpatient 
child and adolescent psychiatric beds. According to the American 
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there are 1,341,682 
children under the age of 18 in Maryland, but only 365 practicing child 
and adolescent psychiatrists, or 1 for every 3,676 children. There are 
six counties in Maryland that have no child and adolescent 
psychiatrists available at all. This is simply unacceptable. Children 
should have access to a full array of prevention, early intervention, 
and treatment options within all child-facing systems. We need to act 
now and improve services with integrated care models, including 
collaborative care arrangements.
  Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour Brooke's House, a 
community-based sober living environment for women in Hagerstown, MD. I 
had the pleasure of attending the graduation of a resident who has 
completed treatment and is transitioning out of the residential 
treatment environment. Brooke's House was the dream of a young Maryland 
girl who struggled opioid addiction. It provides a community-based, 
safe, stable, and emotionally supportive living environment for adult 
women in the early stages of substance abuse recovery. This model of 
care ensures a tranquil, home-like facility to provide state-of-the-art 
treatment and recovery services with resources to help residents 
achieve their dreams of living drug-free and productive lives. This 
year, Brooke's House will use an ARC INSPIRE grant to expand support 
and engagement services, specifically by hiring a coordinator for a 
commercial driver's license--CDL--program to help more women access job 
training and placement while in recovery. The addition of this 
coordinator will help expand the CDL program to serve 12 participants.
  Behavioral health equity is the right of all individuals--regardless 
of race, age, ethnicity, gender, disability, socioeconomic status, 
sexual orientation, or ZIP Code--to access high-quality and affordable 
healthcare support.
  I am excited to see reforms such as the SUPPORT Act, enacted in 2018 
with overwhelming bipartisan support, which addresses the opioid 
epidemic and tackles many aspects of the epidemic, including treatment, 
prevention, recovery, and enforcement. This year, we begin work to 
reauthorize key programs within the SUPPORT Act. This bipartisan 
legislation takes an important step forward in providing additional 
tools to battle the opioid crisis. It is imperative we work toward 
advancing access to high-quality behavioral health care.
  The United States is an ever-changing cultural landscape that shapes 
the way we experience diversity. Cultural values and beliefs not only 
affect our daily activities, but also influence the way we perceive 
physical and emotional distress and the need for interventions to deal 
with them. Mental illness is perceived differently by various cultures, 
as is the ability to express certain symptoms. Emotional distress and 
mental health problems occur in all socio-cultural backgrounds as well 
as ages.
  Mental illness affects the lives of so many Americans. We have made 
great strides as a nation to better support individuals and 
communities, which is why we recently celebrated the anniversary of the 
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This July, in honor of National 
Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, let us commit to continue 
working together on both sides of the aisle to improve mental health 
care in our country by building on the success of integrated care 
models and innovative systems.

                          ____________________