Rashida Tlaib: “I thank my colleague from Vermont for yielding. Mr. Speaker, as you can see even behind her, it says, ``Facing mental…”

“I thank my colleague from Vermont for yielding. Mr. Speaker, as you can see even behind her, it says, ``Facing mental health challenges doesn't make you weak. It makes you human.'' Even as I say this, I think about Damon in my community who took his life. He was a veteran. He served our country. He came home. He continued his service by being one of our firefighters. When I read that every single day in our country, in our Nation, about 17 veterans die by suicide, I was shocked. That is 17 families, Mr. Speaker, whose lives will never be the same. This is just one of the heartbreaking effects of war and the reality of the mental health crisis in our Nation. We must work harder than ever to ensure that no person, no human being, or veteran is left behind, and everyone receives the mental health support and love that they need to survive. The forever wars of the past decades have left behind immense trauma, and far too often our government fails to provide our veterans with the support they need and deserve. If we cannot provide the necessary mental health care in support of our veterans when they return home, we should not be sending them to war. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we must prioritize improving access to mental health services to every single American and every single family across our Nation. This is critical to creating a better quality of life for our communities and their families and everyone in our communities that continue to struggle.…”