Bill Text: CA SCR67 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered

---

Bill Title: National Mental Health Awareness Month.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-07-14 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 103, Statutes of 2015. [SCR67 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SCR67-Chaptered.html

---

BILL NUMBER: SCR 67	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  103
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JULY 14, 2015
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JUNE 11, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JULY 9, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Stone
   (Coauthors: Senators Bates, Fuller, Huff, Morrell, Nguyen, Runner,
and Vidak)

                        MAY 22, 2015

   Relative to National Mental Health Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 67, Stone. National Mental Health Awareness Month.
   This measure would recognize May 2015 as National Mental Health
Awareness Month to enhance public awareness of mental illness.



   WHEREAS, Mental illness is one of the leading causes of
disabilities in the United States, affecting one out of every four
families and victimizing both the person with the illness and those
persons who care for and love the person afflicted; and
   WHEREAS, Serious mental illness costs Americans approximately
$193.2 billion in lost earnings per year; and
   WHEREAS, The National Institute of Mental Health has reported that
many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given
time and that 45 percent of those with any mental disorder meet
criteria for two or more disorders, including diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, HIV/Aids, and cancer, and the severity of the
mental disorder strongly relates to comorbidity; and
   WHEREAS, 57 million Americans have a mental disorder in any given
year, but fewer than 40 percent of adults living with a mental
illness, and slightly more than one-half of youth 8 to 15 years of
age, inclusive, with a mental illness received mental health services
in the last year; and
   WHEREAS, Although mental illness impacts all people, many of those
in lower-income communities receive less care, poorer quality of
care, and often lack access to culturally competent care, thereby
resulting in mental health disparities; and
   WHEREAS, Some see negative perceptions about mental health care as
a significant factor contributing to limited or nonexistent access
to care, and some common concerns are stigma, culture, masculinity,
exposure to violence, and lack of information and awareness, among
many others; and
   WHEREAS, According to the California Reducing Disparities Project
report, being misdiagnosed and given severe mental health diagnoses
can be stigmatizing and can affect the person's self-esteem, which,
in turn, can discourage the person from seeking help; and
   WHEREAS, The three major brain diseases: schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, and depression, adversely affect the economy, contribute to
the rise of incarceration rates, and erode the quality of life for
patients and their loved ones; and
   WHEREAS, Nearly two-thirds of all people with a diagnosable mental
illness do not receive mental health treatment due to stigma, lack
of community-based resources, inadequate diagnosis, or no diagnosis;
and
   WHEREAS, An estimated 70 percent of all youth in the juvenile
justice system have at least one mental health condition, and at
least 20 percent live with severe mental illness that is usually
undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, untreated, or ineffectively treated, thus
leaving those detained in the juvenile justice system in vulnerable
condition; and
   WHEREAS, There is a need to improve public awareness of mental
illness and to strengthen local and national awareness of brain
diseases, so that all those with mental illness may receive adequate
and appropriate treatment that will result in their becoming fully
functioning members of society; and
   WHEREAS, Access to mental health treatment and services is of
paramount importance; and
   WHEREAS, There is a need to encourage primary care physicians to
offer screenings, to partner with mental health care providers, to
seek appropriate referrals to specialists, and to encourage timely
and accurate diagnoses of mental disorders; and
   WHEREAS, The Legislature wishes to enhance public awareness of
mental illness, now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
hereby recognizes May 2015 as National Mental Health Awareness Month
in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness; and be
it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.