III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 657 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Black, indigenous, and people of color 

(‘‘BIPOC’’) Mental Health Awareness Month in July 2020. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2020 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HARRIS, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. 

ROSEN, Ms. SMITH, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. CASEY, and 

Ms. WARREN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Black, indigenous, and 

people of color (‘‘BIPOC’’) Mental Health Awareness 

Month in July 2020. 

Whereas July 2020 is ‘‘BIPOC Mental Health Awareness 

Month’’; 

Whereas the goals of BIPOC Mental Health Awareness 

Month (formerly known as ‘‘Minority Mental Health 

Awareness Month’’) are— 

(1) to recognize disparities in the incidence of mental health-related challenges faced by Black, indigenous, 

and people of color (referred to in this preamble as 

‘‘BIPOC’’) communities; 


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(2) to raise awareness of the systemic drivers of 

those disparities; 

(3) to educate patients, caregivers, and the family 

members of individuals who may be in need of care on 

the importance of recognizing the signs of mental illness, 

seeking evaluation and accepting diagnosis, receiving and 

adhering to mental health treatment, and counseling; 

(4) to highlight the necessity of culturally informed 

and culturally effective mental health services to increase 

receptivity to treatment among communities of color and 

to reduce the social and cultural stigma associated with 

mental health services; 

(5) to underscore the need to dismantle the barriers 

to access faced by individuals who seek mental health 

care services; and 

(6) to overcome and repair the mental harm and 

trauma that are experienced by people of color and 

caused by systematic racism and racial bias; 

Whereas the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color, is expected to have grave and potentially 

long-term mental health implications due to the traumatic stress associated with pandemic conditions, including stress from— 

(1) the loss of resources to meet immediate and future needs; 

(2) grief and concerns for the safety of family and 

loved ones; 

(3) reduced social interaction and increased isolation 

and loneliness; 

(4) the stigma and xenophobia against Asian-American communities, including many incidents of hate durVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR657.IS SR657

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ing the COVID–19 pandemic, leading to negative mental 

health outcomes; and 

(5) a lack of consideration for pre-existing social-environmental disparities when addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID–19 on communities of color; 

Whereas, even in nonpandemic times, the psychosocial stress 

of racial discrimination, including exclusion from health, 

educational, social, and economic resources, contributes 

to poorer health quality and higher rates of chronic 

health conditions for communities of color; 

Whereas BIPOC communities, already burdened by disparities in chronic illnesses like lung disease, asthma, heart 

conditions, sickle cell disease, and diabetes, disproportionately suffer from the mental health disorders that are 

commonly associated with those chronic illnesses; 

Whereas environmental strains, such as poverty, unsafe 

neighborhoods, and chronic racial and ethnic discrimination, among other social determinants of health, can significantly increase distress and the overall mental and 

emotional well-being of poor youth of color; 

Whereas an emerging body of research shows that past trauma inflicted on racial and ethnic minorities has the potential to affect the descendants of the survivors of that 

trauma; 

Whereas, despite the necessity of diverse scientific and health 

care workforces and culturally informed and culturally effective science and research to address mental health disparities, including disparities in care, and decades of efforts to diversify those workforces, there continues to be 

a challenging pattern of continued underrepresentation of 


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people of certain genders and racial and ethnic groups in 

those fields; 

Whereas mental health services and supports often are not 

aligned with the National Standards for Culturally and 

Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health 

Care; 

Whereas the lack of linguistically appropriate mental health 

services and the lack of information about where to find 

those services decreases the likelihood that families of 

color will seek help; 

Whereas investment in linguistically appropriate mental 

health services will— 

(1) reverse the trend of families of color not seeking 

help; and 

(2) drive an increase in use of those services by people of color who experience mental health-related challenges; 

Whereas the Office of Minority Health of the Department of 

Health and Human Services has determined that Black 

adults are 20 percent more likely than their White peers 

to report serious psychological distress; 

Whereas the suicide death rate for Black youth has risen 

from 2.55 per 100,000 in 2007 to 4.82 per 100,000 in 

2017; 

Whereas Black youth under the age of 13 are twice as likely 

as White youth of the same age group to die by suicide; 

Whereas Black males ages 5 through 11 are more likely than 

their White peers to die by suicide; 

Whereas, in 2018, 42 percent of Black adults with a serious 

mental illness received no treatment, compared with 35.9 


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percent of the total adult population of the United 

States; 

Whereas chronic underfunding of Federal treaty obligations 

for health services for Tribal Nations has contributed to 

disparate mental health outcomes for American Indians 

and Alaska Natives, who experience post-traumatic stress 

disorder more than twice as often as the general population; 

Whereas, between 2000 and 2020, the suicide rate for American Indian and Alaska Native women and men has increased by 139 percent and 71 percent, respectively, compared with a 33 percent increase for the total adult population in the United States; 

Whereas suicide is the second leading cause of death for 

American Indian and Alaska Native youth ages 10 

through 24; 

Whereas the suicide rate for American Indian and Alaska 

Native youth is 2.5 times higher than the national average and the highest across all ethnic and racial groups; 

Whereas Latino adults and children face barriers to accessing 

mental health services, including a lack of insurance, the 

high cost of health services, low wages, poor transportation, work stress, and immigration factors; 

Whereas research shows that, in the Hispanic population, 

older adults and youth are more susceptible than other 

Hispanic adults to mental distress relating to immigration and acculturation; 

Whereas fewer treatment and prevention services reach Hispanics than other racial or ethnic groups in the United 

States due to the lack of professionals being equipped to 

support culturally specific challenges; 


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Whereas, in 2017, suicide was the leading cause of death for 

Asian Americans ages 15 through 24; 

Whereas, in 2015, Asian adults with any mental illness had 

the lowest rates of use of health services, prescription 

medication, and outpatient services among all racial 

groups; 

Whereas the rate of suicide among Asian-American women 

over the age of 65 is the highest of any group in that 

age range; 

Whereas the rate of suicide among Bhutanese refugees is 

twice the rate of suicide for the general population of the 

United States; 

Whereas Native Hawaiian youth in Hawaii have significantly 

higher suicide rates than other adolescents; 

Whereas Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders face greater 

stigma than is faced by the general population of the 

United States faces in accessing mental health care; 

Whereas the first BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month 

(then known as ‘‘Minority Mental Health Awareness 

Month’’) was designated in honor of the late Bebe Moore 

Campbell, who showed great dedication and commitment 

to moving communities— 

(1) to support mental wellness through effective 

treatment options; and 

(2) to increase access to mental health treatment 

and services; and 

Whereas communities of color have shown deep mental-health 

resiliency in the face of decades and centuries of trauma 

and discrimination, underscoring the efficacy and importance of resilience-focused and culturally and contextually 


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grounded prevention and early intervention strategies in 

mental health: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate supports the goals and 

2 ideals of BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month in July 

3 2020, which include bringing attention to the mental 

4 health disparities faced by communities of color in the 

5 United States, such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, 

6 Asian Americans, Blacks, Latinos, and Native Hawaiians 

7 and other Pacific Islanders. 

Æ 


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