Shining A Light on Mental Health Emergencies and Suicides Among Black Youth

Floor Speech

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Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, good evening. I thank Jonathan Jackson for co-anchoring this important discussion on tonight's Special Order hour for the Congressional Black Caucus and to Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick for her tremendous leadership on all of our Special Order hours.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to recognize the month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month.

I thank Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman for her tremendous leadership on this very important issue, as well as each of our members for their work in addressing mental health, specifically in the Black community.

Today, it is estimated that one out of every five American adults experiences mental health illnesses each year.

In the United States, 21 percent of Black Americans reported having a mental illness, however, just 39 percent received mental health services.

In recent years, the suicide rate among Black youth has been found to be increasing faster than any other racial or ethnic group.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is now the third leading cause of death for Black male adolescents and young adults in our country.

Over the last 30 years, we have seen a 160 percent rise in the suicide rate for young Black men. The statistics regarding mental health in the Black community are alarming, yet it has received very little attention from this Congress.

So it is time for us to address mental health and, in fact, to focus on mental wellness, the same as in any other health issue. It is time to remove the stigma that too often surrounds mental health, especially for members of our community who are less likely to receive mental health care services to begin with.

This means addressing the systemic economic barriers our community faces to mental health care services, the lack of culturally competent care, and the root causes of declining mental health, including racism and implicit biases in daily life, high poverty rates, disparate economic participation, and low access to quality psychological and psychiatric services.

It also means addressing the lack of diversity in our healthcare system. Often, when Black patients seek mental health services, they prefer a same-race healthcare professional, who are vastly underrepresented in this space.

As legislators, we have a responsibility to the communities that we serve to find solutions to longstanding disparities that negatively impact our communities and to ensure that no one gets left out or left behind.

As we can see, the research is clear, and the crisis before us is urgent. There are solutions. My colleague, Representative Watson Coleman, discussed just two that are bipartisan and have the support of Members on both sides.

I know that there are efforts to pass bills in days when the majority wants them to, and we are asking you to make mental health the priority, especially in this month.

In order to remedy these disparities, reverse these trends, and save lives, we have to address them head-on by providing access to better and more affordable healthcare, improving economic conditions in our communities, and moving toward more culturally competent and evidence- based care.

We have to take action now. Lives are on the line. It is possible. It can be done by focusing on Mental Health and Wellness Month in a way that lifts up all communities and the services and support that they need.

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