[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27667-27669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09535]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 27667]]


                Proclamation 10563 of April 28, 2023

                
National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Mental Health Awareness Month, we honor 
                the absolute courage of the tens of millions of 
                Americans living with mental health conditions, and we 
                celebrate the loved ones and mental health 
                professionals who are there for them every day. 
                Treatment works, and there is no shame in seeking it. 
                Together, we will keep fighting to get everyone access 
                to the care they need to live full and happy lives.

                As Americans, we have a duty of care to reach out to 
                one another and leave no one behind. But so many of our 
                friends, colleagues, and loved ones are battling mental 
                health challenges, made worse by the isolation and 
                trauma of COVID-19. Two in five adults report anxiety 
                and depression, and two in five teens describe 
                experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness, 
                exacerbated by social media, bullying, and gun 
                violence. Drug overdose deaths are also near record 
                highs, and suicide is the second leading cause of death 
                among young people. It does not have to be this way.

                As President, I released a new national strategy to 
                transform how we understand and address mental health 
                in America--supporting and training more providers, 
                improving access to care, and building healthy 
                environments that promote mental health. This work is a 
                core pillar of the Unity Agenda that I outlined in my 
                first State of the Union Address. Mental health is 
                health; it affects everyone, regardless of race, 
                gender, politics, or income. Promoting it is one of the 
                big things that we can all agree to do together as 
                Americans to make our country stronger.

                The United States has long faced a shortage of mental 
                health providers. It takes an average of 11 years to 
                get treatment after the onset of symptoms, and less 
                than half of Americans struggling with mental illness 
                ever receive the care they need. This is especially 
                true in rural and other underserved communities. That 
                is why the American Rescue Plan made our Nation's 
                biggest-ever investment in mental health and substance 
                use programs--recruiting, training, and supporting more 
                providers at the State and local levels, including in 
                our schools. Last year, when we passed the Nation's 
                first major gun safety law in nearly 30 years, it 
                contained measures to further increase the number of 
                school psychologists and counselors available to our 
                kids, to make it easier for schools to use Medicaid to 
                deliver mental health care, and to expand the Certified 
                Community Behavioral Health Clinics that deliver 24/7 
                care. Additionally, we have invested in training more 
                first responders to address mental health-related 
                issues.

[[Page 27668]]

                Last year, we also launched 988 as the Nation's new 
                Suicide and Crisis Lifeline so anyone in the midst of a 
                crisis can receive life-saving confidential help right 
                away. We added dedicated counselors trained in 
                supporting LGBTQI+ youth to the 988 lifeline, and for 
                veterans, we made it easier to reach the Veterans 
                Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1 to reach 
                trained crisis responders. We created a separate 
                Maternal Mental Health Hotline to help mothers navigate 
                mental health issues like postpartum depression, 
                anxiety, and substance use disorders, which affect one 
                in five pregnant and postpartum women. Far too often, 
                these disorders go undiagnosed and untreated, so we 
                have invested in programs that bolster screening and 
                treatment and call specific attention to them during 
                Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, which we also 
                observe this month. Finally, we have passed historic 
                laws that further require insurers to cover mental 
                health care as they would any other kind of treatment, 
                that lower prescription drug costs, and that expand 
                health coverage generally. I am proud that we have seen 
                historic health insurance coverage gains since I took 
                office.

                At the same time, we are fighting to expand access to 
                prevention and treatment for substance use disorders, 
                including opioid use disorder, which have devastated so 
                many families and communities. This includes expanding 
                access to mental health and substance use treatment in 
                jails and prisons and during reentry to support people 
                when they return home. And last year, we passed a law 
                making it easier for doctors to prescribe effective 
                addiction treatment. Anyone suffering should know they 
                are not alone: We believe in recovery, and we celebrate 
                the courage of the 23 million Americans who have come 
                so far down that road.

                We are also expanding mental health care for service 
                members and veterans, to better honor our sacred 
                obligation to the troops we send into harm's way and to 
                care for them and their families when they are home. We 
                cannot keep losing 17 veterans a day to the silent 
                scourge of suicide. My Administration is increasing 
                access to mental health care, hiring more mental health 
                professionals, and investing in programs that recruit 
                veterans to help one another get the support they need. 
                And we are working to expand rental assistance and job 
                placement programs to help smooth veterans' return to 
                civilian life. I have also signed laws extending 
                counseling, benefits, and other mental health resources 
                to first responders and their families to help them 
                heal from the trauma that they or their loved ones 
                faced on the job.

                There is much more to do. For one, we must finally hold 
                social media companies accountable for the experiments 
                they are running on our children for profit. I have 
                called on the Congress to limit the personal data that 
                tech companies collect, to ban targeted advertising 
                directed at minors, and to require social media 
                platforms to put health and safety first, especially 
                for kids.

                We all have a role to play in ending the stigma around 
                mental health issues. It starts by showing compassion, 
                so everyone feels free to ask for help. If you are 
                facing a crisis, dial 988 to reach the National Suicide 
                and Crisis Lifeline. If you are a new or expecting 
                mother, you can call 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS for confidential 
                professional advice. If you are feeling overwhelmed or 
                just need someone to talk to, ask your healthcare 
                provider, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
                Services Administration's National Helpline at 1-800-
                662-HELP, or visit www.FindSupport.gov. If someone you 
                know is going through a tough time, reach out and tell 
                them you are there for them. We are all in this 
                together.

[[Page 27669]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 2023 as 
                National Mental Health Awareness Month. I call upon 
                citizens, government agencies, private businesses, 
                nonprofit organizations, and other groups to join in 
                activities and take action to strengthen the mental 
                health of our communities and our Nation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-09535
Filed 5-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P