,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #feg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bc1
 #bjbj,ms4 ,cortez ,masto 7for herself1 
,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,ms4      
,harris1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1
 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,ms4     
,rosen1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,ms4
 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,casey1 and ,ms4      
,warren7 submitted the following        
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,health1 ,education1      
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,,resolution     
,supporting the goals and ideals of     
,black1 indigenous1 and people of color 
7,,bipoc7 ,mental ,health ,awareness    
,month in ,july #bjbj4  ,whereas ,july  
#bjbj is ,,bipoc ,mental ,health        
,awareness ,month2 ,whereas the goals of
 ,,bipoc ,mental ,health ,awareness     
,month 7formerly known as ,minority     
,mental ,health ,awareness ,month7 are--
 7#a7 to recognize disparities in the   
incidence of mental health-related      
challenges faced by ,black1 indigenous1 

and people of color 7referred to in this
 preamble as ,,bipoc7 communities2  7#b7
 to raise awareness of the systemic     
drivers of those disparities2  7#c7 to  
educate patients1 caregivers1 and the   
family members of individuals who may be
 in need of care on the importance of   
recognizing the signs of mental illness1
 seeking evaluation and accepting       
diagnosis1 receiving and adhering to    
mental health treatment1 and counseling2
  7#d7 to highlight the necessity of    
culturally informed and culturally      
effective mental health services to     
increase receptivity to treatment among 
communities of color and to reduce the  
social and cultural stigma associated   
with mental health services2  7#e7 to   
underscore the need to dismantle the    
barriers to access faced by individuals 
who seek mental health care services2   
and  7#f7 to overcome and repair the    
mental harm and trauma that are         
experienced by people of color and      
caused by systematic racism and racial  

bias2 ,whereas the ,coronavirus ,disease
 #bjai 7,,covid-#ai7 pandemic1 which has
 disproportionately impacted communities
 of color1 is expected to have grave and
 potentially long-term mental health    
implications due to the traumatic stress
 associated with pandemic conditions1   
including stress from-- 7#a7 the loss of
 resources to meet immediate and future 
needs2  7#b7 grief and concerns for the 
safety of family and loved ones2  7#c7  
reduced social interaction and increased
 isolation and loneliness2  7#d7 the    
stigma and xenophobia against           
,asian-,american communities1 including 
many incidents of hate during the       
,,covid-#ai pandemic1 leading to        
negative mental health outcomes2 and    
7#e7 a lack of consideration for        
pre-existing social-environmental       
disparities when addressing the         
disproportionate impact of ,,covid-#ai  
on communities of color2 ,whereas1 even 
in nonpandemic times1 the psychosocial  
stress of racial discrimination1        

including exclusion from health1        
educational1 social1 and economic       
resources1 contributes to poorer health 
quality and higher rates of chronic     
health conditions for communities of    
color2 ,whereas ,,bipoc communities1    
already burdened by disparities in      
chronic illnesses like lung disease1    
asthma1 heart conditions1 sickle cell   
disease1 and diabetes1                  
disproportionately suffer from the      
mental health disorders that are        
commonly associated with those chronic  
illnesses2 ,whereas environmental       
strains1 such as poverty1 unsafe        
neighborhoods1 and chronic racial and   
ethnic discrimination1 among other      
social determinants of health1 can      
significantly increase distress and the 
overall mental and emotional well-being 
of poor youth of color2 ,whereas an     
emerging body of research shows that    
past trauma inflicted on racial and     
ethnic minorities has the potential to  
affect the descendants of the survivors 

of that trauma2 ,whereas1 despite the   
necessity of diverse scientific and     
health care workforces and culturally   
informed and culturally effective       
science and research to address mental  
health disparities1 including           
disparities in care1 and decades of     
efforts to diversify those workforces1  
there continues to be a challenging     
pattern of continued underrepresentation
 of people of certain genders and racial
 and ethnic groups in those fields2     
,whereas mental health services and     
supports often are not aligned with the 
,national ,standards for ,culturally and
 ,linguistically ,appropriate ,services 
in ,health and ,health ,care2 ,whereas  
the lack of linguistically appropriate  
mental health services and the lack of  
information about where to find those   
services decreases the likelihood that  
families of color will seek help2       
,whereas investment in linguistically   
appropriate mental health services      
will-- 7#a7 reverse the trend of        

families of color not seeking help2 and 
7#b7 drive an increase in use of those  
services by people of color who         
experience mental health-related        
challenges2 ,whereas the ,office of     
,minority ,health of the ,department of 
,health and ,human ,services has        
determined that ,black adults are #bj   
percent more likely than their ,white   
peers to report serious psychological   
distress2 ,whereas the suicide death    
rate for ,black youth has risen from    
#b4ee per #ajj1jjj in #bjjg to #d4hb per
 #ajj1jjj in #bjag2 ,whereas ,black     
youth under the age of #ac are twice as 
likely as ,white youth of the same age  
group to die by suicide2 ,whereas ,black
 males ages #e through #aa are more     
likely than their ,white peers to die by
 suicide2 ,whereas1 in #bjah1 #db       
percent of ,black adults with a serious 
mental illness received no treatment1   
compared with #ce4i percent of the total
 adult population of the ,united        
,states2 ,whereas chronic underfunding  

of ,federal treaty obligations for      
health services for ,tribal ,nations has
 contributed to disparate mental health 
outcomes for ,american ,indians and     
,alaska ,natives1 who experience        
post-traumatic stress disorder more than
 twice as often as the general          
population2 ,whereas1 between #bjjj and 
#bjbj1 the suicide rate for ,american   
,indian and ,alaska ,native women and   
men has increased by #aci percent and   
#ga percent1 respectively1 compared with
 a #cc percent increase for the total   
adult population in the ,united ,states2
 ,whereas suicide is the second leading 
cause of death for ,american ,indian and
 ,alaska ,native youth ages #aj through 
#bd2 ,whereas the suicide rate for      
,american ,indian and ,alaska ,native   
youth is #b4e times higher than the     
national average and the highest across 
all ethnic and racial groups2 ,whereas  
,latino adults and children face        
barriers to accessing mental health     
services1 including a lack of insurance1

 the high cost of health services1 low  
wages1 poor transportation1 work stress1
 and immigration factors2 ,whereas      
research shows that1 in the ,hispanic   
population1 older adults and youth are  
more susceptible than other ,hispanic   
adults to mental distress relating to   
immigration and acculturation2 ,whereas 
fewer treatment and prevention services 
reach ,hispanics than other racial or   
ethnic groups in the ,united ,states due
 to the lack of professionals being     
equipped to support culturally specific 
challenges2 ,whereas1 in #bjag1 suicide 
was the leading cause of death for      
,asian ,americans ages #ae through #bd2 
,whereas1 in #bjae1 ,asian adults with  
any mental illness had the lowest rates 
of use of health services1 prescription 
medication1 and outpatient services     
among all racial groups2 ,whereas the   
rate of suicide among ,asian-,american  
women over the age of #fe is the highest
 of any group in that age range2        
,whereas the rate of suicide among      

,bhutanese refugees is twice the rate of
 suicide for the general population of  
the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,native   
,hawaiian youth in ,hawaii have         
significantly higher suicide rates than 
other adolescents2 ,whereas ,native     
,hawaiians and ,pacific ,islanders face 
greater stigma than is faced by the     
general population of the ,united       
,states faces in accessing mental health
 care2 ,whereas the first ,,bipoc       
,mental ,health ,awareness ,month 7then 
known as ,minority ,mental ,health      
,awareness ,month7 was designated in    
honor of the late ,bebe ,moore          
,campbell1 who showed great dedication  
and commitment to moving communities--  
7#a7 to support mental wellness through 
effective treatment options2 and  7#b7  
to increase access to mental health     
treatment and services2 and ,whereas    
communities of color have shown deep    
mental-health resiliency in the face of 
decades and centuries of trauma and     
discrimination1 underscoring the        

efficacy and importance of              
resilience-focused and culturally and   
contextually grounded prevention and    
early intervention strategies in mental 
health3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the
 ,senate supports the goals and ideals  
of ,,bipoc ,mental ,health ,awareness   
,month in ,july #bjbj1 which include    
bringing attention to the mental health 
disparities faced by communities of     
color in the ,united ,states1 such as   
,american ,indians1 ,alaska ,natives1   
,asian ,americans1 ,blacks1 ,latinos1   
and ,native ,hawaiians and other        
,pacific ,islanders4