[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H4540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            NATIONAL MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge National 
Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.
  More than one in five adults in the United States live with mental 
illness. We must ensure that community practitioners, from mental 
health workers, social workers, crisis managers, and law enforcement 
are educated on implicit biases that they may have and the social 
determinants of health that negatively impact patients of color.
  While people of all ages and backgrounds experience mental disorders, 
minorities face significant treatment disparities. Cultural humility 
training has advanced healthcare equity, but we must do better.
  In my area in the Caribbean, communities affected by hurricanes, most 
recently Grenada, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, and Jamaica, experience 
a different level of mental strain, leading to mental health crises in 
families among adults and children.
  I urge my colleagues to better address the tremendous mental health 
disparities and barriers to treatment for minority communities.

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