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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING NATIONAL MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, the month of July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, a month-long initiative to bring awareness to the unique mental health struggles of all racial and ethnic minorities and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations across the country; and
WHEREAS, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month was brought before Congress, to be formally recognized on June 2, 2008, in honor of Bebe Moore Campbell with the goal of bringing forth solutions to the unique mental health struggles of racial and ethnic minorities; and
WHEREAS, mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and effects how we think, feel, and act, and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices; and
WHEREAS, racial and ethnic minority populations experience numerous mental health disparities including higher rates of attempted suicide in adolescents and lower treatment rates for mental disorders like depression in adults; and
WHEREAS, limited access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services; and stigma surrounding mental health care and social determinates of health are factors that can lead to poor mental health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority; and
WHEREAS, in Mental Health America's 2022 state ranking report, Illinois ranked 9th overall, which indicates lower prevalence of mental illness and higher rates of access to care; and
WHEREAS, despite Illinois's high overall ranking, according to an article published in BMC Public Health, many minority groups in Illinois have disproportionate differences in access to health care which affects their health-related quality of life; and
WHEREAS, despite experiencing mental health issues at a similar rate to white Americans, only about 1 in 3 Black and Hispanic Americans receive mental health care. In 2022, among adults with any mental illness, ...
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