Grace Napolitano: “I bring to the floor a topic very near and dear to my heart, and I rise today to recognize the entire month of May as…”

“I bring to the floor a topic very near and dear to my heart, and I rise today to recognize the entire month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month. I cochair the Congressional Mental Health Caucus along with my Republican colleague, Mr. John Katko from New York, and we work to educate Members of Congress and their staff on the work still needed to expand mental health access and protections, and also to reduce the ever-present stigma. The topic of mental health in Congress has and is building momentum, and it is spurring action to increase delivery of mental health services, something I have worked to do for over 2 decades. This year alone, our House Mental Health Caucus has grown from 47 Members of Congress to 92. However, mental health still affects millions of Americans of all ages, genders, races, and remains woefully underfunded and misunderstood. Suicide currently plagues our veteran community. Roughly 20 veterans per day take their own lives, according to the VA. A 2005 to 2016 Department of Veterans Affairs' Suicide Data Report found that the veteran suicide rate is 1.5 times greater than the nonveteran population, with over 6,000 veterans dying by suicide each year. In the Hispanic community, my own community, approximately one in ten individuals with mental illness use mental health services from a general health provider, while only one in 20 receive such services from a mental health specialist.…”