[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 133, 116th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
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

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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 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

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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.
DONALD J. TRUMP