•HRES 373 IH 
Whereas the AANHPI community is extremely diverse in 
terms of socioeconomic levels, education, employment, 
language, national origin, acculturation, immigration, and 
colonization status; 
Whereas celebrating one’s cultural heritage and having access 
to culturally and linguistically competent care is impor-
tant to mental health and wellness; 
Whereas 76 percent of the estimated 2,300,000 AANHPIs 
who meet criteria for a mental health problem do not re-
ceive treatment and have among the lowest rates of utili-
zation of mental health services out of any racial popu-
lation; 
Whereas suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the 
United States, but in 2019, Asian/Pacific Islander youth 
ages 15 to 24 years old were the only racial/ethnic popu-
lation in this age category whose leading cause of death 
was suicide; 
Whereas it is imperative to disaggregate AANHPI population 
data to get an accurate representation of the depth and 
breadth of the mental health issues impacting each sub-
population so that specific culturally and linguistically 
appropriate solutions can be developed; 
Whereas language continues to be a critical issue, whether 
due to the limited number of providers with the necessary 
language skills to provide in-language services or the sig-
nificant language loss faced by the Native Hawaiian and 
Pacific Islander community due to colonization; 
Whereas there is a need to significantly increase the number 
of providers, including paraprofessionals representing the 
AANHPI community, and provide them with the nec-
essary training and ongoing support; 
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•HRES 373 IH 
Whereas 1 in 3 Asian Americans who have been diagnosed 
with depression are unable to see a doctor due to high 
health care costs; 
Whereas skyrocketing rates of anti-Asian harassment and vi-
olence during the COVID–19 pandemic, as well as the 
additional layers of hate directed toward women and el-
ders of Asian descent, contribute to the deterioration of 
mental health for the Asian-American community; 
Whereas, in the past two years, 78 percent of Asian-Amer-
ican and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women have been af-
fected by anti-Asian racism, with more than half person-
ally encountering specific incidences of racism and nearly 
one-third of AAPI women indicating that the COVID–19 
pandemic caused their mental health to deteriorate; 
Whereas historical discrimination and current racial violence 
toward the AANHPI community increases trauma and 
stress, underlying precursors to mental health problems; 
Whereas understanding this history of discrimination and on-
going trauma is essential to improving mental health care 
for the AANHPI population; 
Whereas there is a critical need to raise awareness about and 
improve mental health literacy among the AANHPI com-
munity to reduce the stigma associated with mental 
health issues; and 
Whereas May is both National Asian Pacific American Herit-
age Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, an op-
portunity to celebrate the vast contributions of the 
AANHPI community to American society and acknowl-
edge the importance of mental health and the well-being 
and health of families and communities: Now, therefore, 
be it 
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•HRES 373 IH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Asian 
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
Mental Health Day’’ to remove the stigma in the 
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Is-
lander (AANHPI) community associated with men-
tal illness and place emphasis on access to linguis-
tically and culturally appropriate mental health serv-
ice providers; 
(2) promotes national awareness of mental 
health issues unique to the AANHPI community and 
strives to improve the quality and availability of 
mental health services for this population; and 
(3) encourages Federal, State, and local health 
agencies to adopt laws, policies, and guidance to im-
prove help-seeking rates for mental health services 
for AANHPIs and other communities of color. 
Æ 
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