R-160 Page 1 of 1
2023
No. R-160. House concurrent resolution recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Vermont.
(H.C.R.127)
Offered by: All Members of the House Whereas, one in five adults in the United States experiences mental illness each year,
and 104,000 adults in Vermont live with a mental health condition, and Whereas, according to the Vermont Department of Health, 142 Vermonters lost their lives to suicide in 2021, and the Vermont suicide rate of 20.3 percent was higher than the national suicide rate of 14 percent, and Whereas, the police arrest one in four Americans with a serious mental illness at some point during the lifetime of those individuals, and, annually, over two million of these Americans are booked into jail, and Whereas, nationally, two in five adults in jail or prison have a history of mental illness,
and seven in ten youths in the juvenile justice system have a mental health condition, and Whereas, in the United States, high school students with depression are more than twice as likely to drop out than are their peers, and Whereas, 40.8 percent of Vermonters 12–17 years of age who have depression did not receive any care in the last year, and Whereas, more than 1,000 persons in Vermont are homeless, and one in three of these persons lives with a serious mental illness, and Whereas, the area where someone resides plays a significant role in that individual’s overall health and well-being, and Whereas, safe, stable, and healthy home conditions can establish the foundation for the achievement and maintenance of good mental health, and Whereas, individuals with mental health conditions can lead full and productive lives,
and Whereas, every business, school, government agency, care provider, and Vermonter shares the burden of unmet mental health needs and has a responsibility to promote good mental health and wellness, and Whereas, in 1949, Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) designated May as Mental Health Awareness Month, and this occasion merits observance in Vermont, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly recognizes May as Mental Health Awareness Month in
Vermont, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
NAMI (the National Alliance for Mental Health) Vermont and to the Commissioner of
Mental Health.
VT LEG #370839 v.1