President Focused on Mental Health in the State of the Union Address
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Great news, mental health advocates! President
Biden delivered his first State of the Union address and one of the top priorities in his
speech was addressing our country’s mental health crisis.
NAMI released a statement from our CEO, Daniel H. Gillison
Jr. in reaction to this news:
“NAMI applauds President Biden
for his unprecedented focus on mental health in the State of the Union address,
providing the national attention that our ongoing mental health crisis
deserves. From expanding our mental health workforce and reimagining our
response to mental health crises, to increasing access to care and supporting
the mental health of our youth and young adults, the President is proposing
bold investments in our mental health infrastructure”
The White House identified several key areas that
the President is prioritizing in his strategy to address our national mental
health crisis, which align with NAMI’s policy priorities. These include:
- Building
up the capacity of our systems to support people with mental health and
substance use conditions by investing $700 million to expand the supply,
diversity and cultural competency of the mental health and substance use
workforce, creating a national certification for peer support specialists, and
making a nearly $700 million investment in our crisis continuum of care as we
prepare for the July rollout of 988 for mental health crises
- Ensuring
that every American can access mental health and substance use care by
strengthening mental health parity, investing $1 billion to double the number
of school-based mental health professionals and permanently expanding access to
tele- and virtual mental health care
- Supporting Americans by creating healthy environments with investments of $70 million to expand early childhood and school-based intervention services, instituting stronger online protections for young people and increasing mental health resources for justice-involved populations
Thanks to advocates like you, policymakers are listening and
making mental health a priority. Help us keep up the momentum. Sign our
petition to urge Congress to pass these important mental health proposals
without delay.