[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