[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 87 (Monday, May 6, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19851-19852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09401]
[[Page 19849]]
Vol. 84
Monday,
No. 87
May 6, 2019
Part III
The President
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Proclamation 9875--National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2019
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 87 / Monday, May 6, 2019 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 19851]]
Proclamation 9875 of May 1, 2019
National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2019
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
During National Mental Health Awareness Month, we
recognize the vital role mental health plays in the
well-being of individuals and our Nation. We also
reaffirm our commitment to facilitating research and
education, dispelling stigma around mental illnesses,
and reassuring every individual suffering from mental
illnesses that they are not alone. My Administration
has made mental and behavioral health a primary focus
of our public health efforts, particularly opioid
addiction and serious mental illness. This includes
connecting agencies from across the Government to
address issues ranging from housing to workforce
opportunity, bringing a whole person approach to bear
upon this issue.
Mental illnesses can impair mental health in many ways,
through a wide range of conditions that affect mood,
thinking, and behavior. While we have made great
strides in addressing mental illnesses, millions of
Americans still grapple with various forms of it.
Nearly 47 million American adults are living with a
mental illness. Twenty-four percent of these
individuals are living with a serious mental illness,
and approximately 3.1 million adults have both a mental
illness and a substance use disorder. Additionally, the
effects of mental illnesses on our country's youth and
young adults is tragically becoming more apparent. In
just 1 year, rates of major depression, reports of
suicidal thoughts and attempts, and instances of
serious mental illness have all increased for our youth
and young adults, with more than one in 10 young adults
seriously considering suicide in 2017.
My Administration is continuing our efforts to improve
mental health by tackling mental illness and supplying
people who are suffering with the resources they need.
We are working to expand our partnership with States to
help individuals with the most serious mental
illnesses. My fiscal year 2020 budget request to the
Congress maintains funding for the Community Mental
Health Services Block Grants, which provide money to
every State for services to adults with serious mental
illness and children with serious emotional
disturbances. States are using this funding to identify
mental illnesses at early stages in order to reduce the
likelihood of the types of long-term disability that
people with serious mental illnesses often experience.
Last fall, I signed into law H.R. 6, the ``SUPPORT for
Patients and Communities Act.'' This bipartisan law
expands access to inpatient treatment and other
evidence-based options, for those with mental illness.
Additionally, last November, the Department of Health
and Human Services announced an opportunity for States
to use Medicaid demonstration authority to support
short-term inpatient treatment options for adults with
serious mental illnesses and children with serious
emotional disturbances. My Administration has approved
applications from more than 20 States to expand access
to treatment for substance use disorder through these
inpatient facilities. Further, my Administration has
provided unprecedented levels of training and education
to healthcare practitioners across the country
regarding mental health, mental illnesses, and
substance use issues. This training is designed to
enable
[[Page 19852]]
Federal efforts to accommodate the varying needs of
communities across the country.
My Administration is also committed to meeting the
mental health needs of our brave service members and
veterans. Tragically, an average of 20 service members
and veterans die by suicide each day. Of those, nearly
70 percent were not engaged with the Department of
Veterans Affairs for their healthcare. To help address
this issue, I signed an Executive Order that launched
the President's Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a
National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) Initiative and
establishes a task force that includes the Secretaries
of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human
Services, and Homeland Security charged with developing
a comprehensive public health roadmap to help end the
national tragedy of veteran suicide. This plan will
include a national research strategy for engaging
public- and private-sector stakeholders to better
understand the underlying factors of suicide and means
to enhance early identification. Instead of a passive
system that activates when veterans in need reach out,
it will propose grants to empower veteran communities
to create national and local support networks that
actively engage with all veterans.
This month, and throughout the year, let us work
together to understand the importance of mental health.
Let us recommit to making every effort to provide
Americans suffering from mental illnesses with the care
they need. Mental health is not just an individual
issue, but a national issue. The mental health of our
citizens is critical to our Nation's prosperity.
Together, by focusing on and understanding these
issues, we can reduce the effects of mental illnesses
on our communities and enable all Americans to live
healthy and productive lives.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States do hereby proclaim May 2019 as National
Mental Health Awareness Month. I call upon all
Americans to support citizens suffering from mental
illnesses, raise awareness of mental health conditions
through appropriate programs and activities, and commit
our Nation to innovative prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand
nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and forty-third.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2019-09401
Filed 5-3-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F9-P