Presidential Document2023-09535
National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2023
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 3, 2023
Signed
April 28, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27667-27669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09535]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 3, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 27667]]
Proclamation 10563 of April 28, 2023
National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
During National Mental Health Awareness Month, we honor
the absolute courage of the tens of millions of
Americans living with mental health conditions, and we
celebrate the loved ones and mental health
professionals who are there for them every day.
Treatment works, and there is no shame in seeking it.
Together, we will keep fighting to get everyone access
to the care they need to live full and happy lives.
As Americans, we have a duty of care to reach out to
one another and leave no one behind. But so many of our
friends, colleagues, and loved ones are battling mental
health challenges, made worse by the isolation and
trauma of COVID-19. Two in five adults report anxiety
and depression, and two in five teens describe
experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness,
exacerbated by social media, bullying, and gun
violence. Drug overdose deaths are also near record
highs, and suicide is the second leading cause of death
among young people. It does not have to be this way.
As President, I released a new national strategy to
transform how we understand and address mental health
in America--supporting and training more providers,
improving access to care, and building healthy
environments that promote mental health. This work is a
core pillar of the Unity Agenda that I outlined in my
first State of the Union Address. Mental health is
health; it affects everyone, regardless of race,
gender, politics, or income. Promoting it is one of the
big things that we can all agree to do together as
Americans to make our country stronger.
The United States has long faced a shortage of mental
health providers. It takes an average of 11 years to
get treatment after the onset of symptoms, and less
than half of Americans struggling with mental illness
ever receive the care they need. This is especially
true in rural and other underserved communities. That
is why the American Rescue Plan made our Nation's
biggest-ever investment in mental health and substance
use programs--recruiting, training, and supporting more
providers at the State and local levels, including in
our schools. Last year, when we passed the Nation's
first major gun safety law in nearly 30 years, it
contained measures to further increase the number of
school psychologists and counselors available to our
kids, to make it easier for schools to use Medicaid to
deliver mental health care, and to expand the Certified
Community Behavioral Health Clinics that deliver 24/7
care. Additionally, we have invested in training more
first responders to address mental health-related
issues.
[[Page 27668]]
Last year, we also launched 988 as the Nation's new
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline so anyone in the midst of a
crisis can receive life-saving confidential help right
away. We added dedicated counselors trained in
supporting LGBTQI+ youth to the 988 lifeline, and for
veterans, we made it easier to reach the Veterans
Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1 to reach
trained crisis responders. We created a separate
Maternal Mental Health Hotline to help mothers navigate
mental health issues like postpartum depression,
anxiety, and substance use disorders, which affect one
in five pregnant and postpartum women. Far too often,
these disorders go undiagnosed and untreated, so we
have invested in programs that bolster screening and
treatment and call specific attention to them during
Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, which we also
observe this month. Finally, we have passed historic
laws that further require insurers to cover mental
health care as they would any other kind of treatment,
that lower prescription drug costs, and that expand
health coverage generally. I am proud that we have seen
historic health insurance coverage gains since I took
office.
At the same time, we are fighting to expand access to
prevention and treatment for substance use disorders,
including opioid use disorder, which have devastated so
many families and communities. This includes expanding
access to mental health and substance use treatment in
jails and prisons and during reentry to support people
when they return home. And last year, we passed a law
making it easier for doctors to prescribe effective
addiction treatment. Anyone suffering should know they
are not alone: We believe in recovery, and we celebrate
the courage of the 23 million Americans who have come
so far down that road.
We are also expanding mental health care for service
members and veterans, to better honor our sacred
obligation to the troops we send into harm's way and to
care for them and their families when they are home. We
cannot keep losing 17 veterans a day to the silent
scourge of suicide. My Administration is increasing
access to mental health care, hiring more mental health
professionals, and investing in programs that recruit
veterans to help one another get the support they need.
And we are working to expand rental assistance and job
placement programs to help smooth veterans' return to
civilian life. I have also signed laws extending
counseling, benefits, and other mental health resources
to first responders and their families to help them
heal from the trauma that they or their loved ones
faced on the job.
There is much more to do. For one, we must finally hold
social media companies accountable for the experiments
they are running on our children for profit. I have
called on the Congress to limit the personal data that
tech companies collect, to ban targeted advertising
directed at minors, and to require social media
platforms to put health and safety first, especially
for kids.
We all have a role to play in ending the stigma around
mental health issues. It starts by showing compassion,
so everyone feels free to ask for help. If you are
facing a crisis, dial 988 to reach the National Suicide
and Crisis Lifeline. If you are a new or expecting
mother, you can call 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS for confidential
professional advice. If you are feeling overwhelmed or
just need someone to talk to, ask your healthcare
provider, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration's National Helpline at 1-800-
662-HELP, or visit <a href="http://www.FindSupport.gov">www.FindSupport.gov</a>. If someone you
know is going through a tough time, reach out and tell
them you are there for them. We are all in this
together.
[[Page 27669]]
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2023 as
National Mental Health Awareness Month. I call upon
citizens, government agencies, private businesses,
nonprofit organizations, and other groups to join in
activities and take action to strengthen the mental
health of our communities and our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
seventh.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2023-09535
Filed 5-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 3, 2023.
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