Grace Napolitano: “May is Mental Health Month--has been and will continue to be. It is an opportunity to raise awareness and encourage…”

“May is Mental Health Month--has been and will continue to be. It is an opportunity to raise awareness and encourage others to get help and to recognize the symptoms and warning signs of mental health issues. There is a lot of stigma. We must accept it as an illness. We've got to reduce that stigma. We must expand mental health services and give it the parity needed because it does not know boundaries. It affects everybody in every segment of our communities. It is all right. It's okay to ask for help and learn to recognize the symptoms and to learn about the service providers in your area. We must expand more mental health services to our community. We need it for the military, because one in five suffer from major depression or PTSD. Youth--suicide, the third leading cause of death; second for college students. School-based mental health services are greatly needed for early intervention. Minority communities--Native Americans highest ethnicity for suicide. Mental health services must be provided in languages also. Thank you to the mental health professionals, the 500,000 licensed certified professional counselors that work for us and throughout the United States. Thank you, President Obama, first U.S. President to declare May Mental Health Month. ____________________”