Today, @RepJohnKatko and I are reintroducing the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought much needed attention to the serious mental health crisis many communities had already been facing.
A 2019 study found that suicide attempts rose 73% in 20 years among Black youth.
Our bill would authorize funding to support research, improve the pipeline of culturally competent providers, build outreach programs that reduce stigma, and develop training programs.
In 2019, the @TheBlackCaucus Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health published its report outlining this growing problem and providing potential solutions that you can find in this bill.
I’m grateful to Congressman Katko, our taskforce members, and our study group for joining me in the effort to combat this crisis and see to it that all of our youth, no matter their background, have access to the mental health care they need.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
If we look at history, insurrections occur when conditions become dire, the needs of people are ignored, and they get desperate.
A botched pandemic response + impotent economic relief in the face of crisis + a demagogue who shifts blame and stokes hatred = where we are today.
1/
To be clear, those who stormed the capital must be prosecuted and punished for their crimes, but if we don’t address the pain people are facing ACROSS the country, by people of all political leanings, we will never be able to bring our country back together.
2/
Congress needs to pass REAL relief: recurring checks to relieve people’s economic fears, labor reforms so they don’t fear losing their job for taking a day to care for a sick relative, a jobs guarantee to ensure economic stability, M4A…
3/