    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 9735 of April 30, 2018

    National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2018

    By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    During the month of May, we observe National Mental Health Awareness
    Month and reaffirm our commitment to improving the overall health and
    well-being of our Nation. America has made tremendous strides in
    providing treatment and recovery support services for individuals who
    experience mental illnesses. Yet sadly, stigma and misconceptions about
    mental illness persist. The negative stereotypes surrounding mental
    illness deter people who may experience these disorders from getting
    help that can improve their lives and their ability to achieve their
    full potential.
    Approximately one in five Americans experiences a mental illness, yet
    only about one third of them will access treatment. For this reason, my
    fiscal year 2019 budget request to the Congress includes $10 billion in
    new funding to combat the opioid epidemic and address serious mental
    illness. This funding will improve access to evidence-based treatment
    services for those who are seriously mentally ill. My budget also
    requests new funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
    Administration to ensure more adults with serious mental illness receive
    Assertive Community Treatment, an evidence-based practice that provides
    a comprehensive array of services to reduce costly hospitalizations.
    Additionally, my budget maintains funding for the Community Mental
    Health Services Block Grant, which helps ensure that individuals with
    serious mental illness receive appropriate treatment in a timely manner.
    Further, it includes new targeted investments to help divert individuals
    with serious mental illnesses from the criminal justice system and into
    treatment. Finally, it funds important suicide prevention activities.
    As part of an ongoing effort to improve the quality and availability of
    treatment for people with mental illnesses in our healthcare systems, I
    appointed the first Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance
    Use to ensure that all agencies are working together to increase access
    to the best treatment and recovery services possible. This will
    accelerate research and innovation through the Department of Health and
    Human Services and other executive departments and agencies.
    Additionally, we have launched the inaugural Interdepartmental Serious
    Mental Illness Coordinating Committee, which will improve the lives of
    individuals and families who have been affected by serious mental
    illness. This Committee will coordinate services across multiple

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    agencies and will serve as a national model to improve access to
    evidence-based treatment and services most needed by persons with severe
    mental illness or those who are seriously disturbed emotionally.
    This month, and always, we pledge to strive to eliminate the stigma of
    mental illness by increasing awareness for all Americans that these
    illnesses are common and treatable, and that recovery is possible.
    Through these efforts, our neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends
    affected by mental illness will know that there is hope for recovery and
    hope for healthier, more 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 2018 as National
    Mental Health Awareness Month. I call upon all Americans to support
    citizens suffering from mental illness, 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 thirtieth day of
    April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
    second.
    DONALD J. TRUMP