Expand Mental Health Access (Rep. Grace Napolitano)
May 15th, 2008
Mental illness is a problem that affects 57 million Americans, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, religion or class. Even though 1-in-5 people in this country suffer from mental illness, most do not receive any help – only one third of people who suffer from it receive treatment of any kind.
One of the reasons that mental illness is so rarely treated is the stigma wrongly attached to mental health issues, against treatment and against admitting to having a problem. That is why it was so important that Congress stood up and was counted by recognizing Mental Health Awareness Month yesterday.
The mental health and well being of Americans is an economic issue – untreated mental illness cost our economy $150 billion in lost productivity last year.
It is an education issue – it affects 20% of children.
It is a military issue – 1-in-5 soldiers returning from Iraq are suffering from major depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It is a public safety issue – more than half of all prison and jail inmates suffer from mental illness
Most of all it is a moral issue.
We are letting some of some of the most vulnerable among us fall through the cracks. We are failing our veterans and our children when we do not take serious measures to expand access to treatment options.
Expanding access does not just mean more money for programs, it also means working to erase the stigma of mental illness. In Latino culture for example, there is a very strong stigma attached to seeking treatment. One of the consequences is that Latina adolescents are more likely to seriously consider suicide than any another demographic.
The resolution in support of Mental Health Month was an important step but now we must follow it up with action. Congress must work with medical practitioners, educators and community leaders to help more Americans get the treatment they need, we must fund programs that work with schools to improve early detection and treatment and we must ensure that returning veterans are not forced to suffer in silence.
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