| 1 | | - | Enrolled May 18, 2023 Passed IN Senate May 18, 2023 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20232024 REGULAR SESSION Senate Resolution No. 39Introduced by Senator WienerMay 08, 2023 Relative to National Mental Health Awareness Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSR 39, Wiener. Digest KeyBill TextWHEREAS, Mental illness is one of the leading causes of disabilities in the United States, affecting one out of every four families and victimizing both the person with the illness and those persons who care for and love the person afflicted; andWHEREAS, Serious mental illness costs Americans approximately $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year; andWHEREAS, The National Institute of Mental Health has reported that many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time and that 45 percent of those with a mental disorder meet criteria for two or more disorders, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, and cancer, and the severity of the mental disorder strongly relates to comorbidity; andWHEREAS, Despite an overall decrease in the suicide rate in California, in 2020, youth, particularly Black, Latinx, and girls, all showed disproportionate increases in suicide. A shocking 78 percent of LGBTQ+ youth who were surveyed shared that they had considered suicide. The majority of those who had considered suicide shared that they had done so in the last year, and nearly one-third had made an attempt in the past year; andWHEREAS, The UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospital Oakland reported a 63-percent increase in children experiencing mental health emergencies in 2020 compared to 2019; andWHEREAS, In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Childrens Hospital Association came together to declare a national state of emergency in childrens mental health; andWHEREAS, United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory in December 2021, a move reserved for the most urgent public health challenges, highlighting the COVID-19 pandemics devastating impact on the already dire state of childrens mental health; andWHEREAS, In California, there are nearly 60,000 children in the foster case system, and many youth still exit care without the support and guidance they need to successfully transition; andWHEREAS, Research indicates that foster youth experience rates of homelessness ranging from 11 percent to 38 percent: disproportionately higher than that of the general population; andWHEREAS, Fifty-seven million Americans have a mental disorder in any given year, but fewer than 40 percent of adults living with a mental illness, and slightly more than one-half of youth 8 to 15 years of age, inclusive, with a mental illness, received mental health services in the last year; andWHEREAS, Although mental illness impacts all people, many of those in lower income communities receive less care and poorer quality of care, and often lack access to culturally competent care, thereby resulting in mental health disparities; andWHEREAS, Some see negative perceptions about mental health care as a significant factor contributing to limited or nonexistent access to care, and some common concerns are stigma, culture, masculinity, exposure to violence, and lack of information and awareness, among many others; andWHEREAS, According to the California Reducing Disparities Project, being misdiagnosed and given a severe mental health diagnosis can be stigmatizing and can affect the persons self-esteem, which, in turn, can discourage the person from seeking help; andWHEREAS, An estimated 70 percent of all youth in the juvenile justice system have at least one mental health condition, and at least 20 percent live with severe mental illness that is usually undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, untreated, or ineffectively treated, thus leaving those detained in the juvenile justice system in a vulnerable condition; andWHEREAS, There is a need to improve public awareness of mental illness and to strengthen local and national awareness of brain diseases so that all those with mental illness may receive adequate and appropriate treatment that will result in their becoming fully functioning members of society; andWHEREAS, There is a need to encourage primary care physicians to offer screenings, to partner with mental health care providers, to seek appropriate referrals to specialists, and to encourage timely and accurate diagnoses of mental disorders; andWHEREAS, The Legislature wishes to enhance public awareness of mental illness; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate hereby recognizes May 2023 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness; and be it furtherResolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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| 1 | + | CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20232024 REGULAR SESSION Senate Resolution No. 39Introduced by Senator WienerMay 08, 2023 Relative to National Mental Health Awareness Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTSR 39, as introduced, Wiener. Digest KeyBill TextWHEREAS, Mental illness is one of the leading causes of disabilities in the United States, affecting one out of every four families and victimizing both the person with the illness and those persons who care for and love the person afflicted; andWHEREAS, Serious mental illness costs Americans approximately $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year; andWHEREAS, The National Institute of Mental Health has reported that many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time and that 45 percent of those with a mental disorder meet criteria for two or more disorders, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, and cancer, and the severity of the mental disorder strongly relates to comorbidity; andWHEREAS, Despite an overall decrease in the suicide rate in California, in 2020, youth, particularly Black, Latinx, and girls, all showed disproportionate increases in suicide. A shocking 78 percent of LGBTQ+ youth who were surveyed shared that they had considered suicide. The majority of those who had considered suicide shared that they had done so in the last year, and nearly one-third had made an attempt in the past year; andWHEREAS, The UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospital Oakland reported a 63-percent increase in children experiencing mental health emergencies in 2020 compared to 2019; andWHEREAS, In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Childrens Hospital Association came together to declare a national state of emergency in childrens mental health; andWHEREAS, United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory in December 2021, a move reserved for the most urgent public health challenges, highlighting the COVID-19 pandemics devastating impact on the already dire state of childrens mental health; andWHEREAS, In California, there are nearly 60,000 children in the foster case system, and many youth still exit care without the support and guidance they need to successfully transition; andWHEREAS, Research indicates that foster youth experience rates of homelessness ranging from 11 percent to 38 percent: disproportionately higher than that of the general population; andWHEREAS, Fifty-seven million Americans have a mental disorder in any given year, but fewer than 40 percent of adults living with a mental illness, and slightly more than one-half of youth 8 to 15 years of age, inclusive, with a mental illness, received mental health services in the last year; andWHEREAS, Although mental illness impacts all people, many of those in lower income communities receive less care and poorer quality of care, and often lack access to culturally competent care, thereby resulting in mental health disparities; andWHEREAS, Some see negative perceptions about mental health care as a significant factor contributing to limited or nonexistent access to care, and some common concerns are stigma, culture, masculinity, exposure to violence, and lack of information and awareness, among many others; andWHEREAS, According to the California Reducing Disparities Project, being misdiagnosed and given a severe mental health diagnosis can be stigmatizing and can affect the persons self-esteem, which, in turn, can discourage the person from seeking help; andWHEREAS, An estimated 70 percent of all youth in the juvenile justice system have at least one mental health condition, and at least 20 percent live with severe mental illness that is usually undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, untreated, or ineffectively treated, thus leaving those detained in the juvenile justice system in a vulnerable condition; andWHEREAS, There is a need to improve public awareness of mental illness and to strengthen local and national awareness of brain diseases so that all those with mental illness may receive adequate and appropriate treatment that will result in their becoming fully functioning members of society; andWHEREAS, There is a need to encourage primary care physicians to offer screenings, to partner with mental health care providers, to seek appropriate referrals to specialists, and to encourage timely and accurate diagnoses of mental disorders; andWHEREAS, The Legislature wishes to enhance public awareness of mental illness; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate hereby recognizes May 2023 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness; and be it furtherResolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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