A joint resolution to designate the week of October 7, 1990, through October 13, 1990, as "Mental Illness Awareness Week".
PL 101-348 (S.J.Res.256), enacted 08/09/1990

PUBLIC LAW 101-348—AUG. 9, 1990 
104 STAT. 399 
Public Law 101-348 
101st Congress 
Joint Resolution 
To designate the week of October 7, 1990, through October 13, 1990, as "Mental 
Aug. 9, 1990 
Illness Awareness Week". 
[S.J. Res. 256] 
Whereas mental illness is a problem of grave concern and con-
sequence in American society, widely but unnecessarily feared 
and misunderstood; 
Whereas 31 to 41 million Americans annually suffer from clearly 
diagnosable mental disorders involving significant disability with 
respect to emplojrment, attendance at school, or independent 
living; 
Whereas more than 10,000,000 Americans are disabled for long 
periods of time by schizophrenia, manic depressive disorder, and 
major depression; 
Whereas 33 percent of the homeless suffer serious, chronic forms of 
mental illness; 
Whereas alcohol, drug, and mental disorders affect almost 19 per-
cent of American adults in any 6-month period; 
Whereas mental illness in at least 12,000,000 children interferes 
with vital developmental and maturational processes; 
Whereas mental disorder-related deaths are estimated to be 33,000 
annually, with suicide accounting for at least 29,000 of those, 
although the real number is thought to be at least three times 
higher; 
Whereas our growing population of the elderly is particularly 
vulnerable to mental illness; 
Whereas estimates indicate that 1 in 10 AIDS patients will develop 
dementia or other psychiatric problems as the first sign of the 
disease and that as many as two-thirds of AIDS patients will show 
neuropsychiatric S3ntnptoms before they die; 
Whereas mental disorders result in staggering costs to society, 
estimated 
to be in excess of $249,000,000,000 
in direct 
treatment and support and indirect costs to society, including lost 
productivity; 
Whereas the Federal research budget committed to the Alcohol, 
Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration represents only 
about 1 percent of the direct clinical costs of caring for persons 
with alcohol, drug, and mental disorders; 
Whereas mental illness is increasingly a treatable disability with 
excellent prospects for amelioration and recovery when properly 
recognized; 
Whereas femiilies of mentally ill persons and those persons them-
selves have begun to join self-help groups seeking to combat the 
unfair stigma of the diseases, to support greater national invest-
ment in research, and to advocate an adequate continuum of care 
from hospital to community; 
104 STAT. 400 
PUBLIC LAW 101-348—AUG. 9, 1990 
Whereas in recent years there have been unprecedented major 
research developments bringing new methods and technology to 
the sophisticated and objective study of the functioning of the 
brain and its linkages to both normal and abnormal behavior; 
Whereas research in recent decades has led to a wide array of new 
and more effective modalities of treatment G^oth somatic and 
psychosocial) for some of the most incapacitating forms of mental 
illness (including schizophrenia, major affective disorders, pho-
bias, and phobic disorders); 
Whereas appropriate treatment of mental illness has been dem-
onstrated to be cost effective in terms of restored productivity, 
reduced utilization of other health services, and lessened social 
dependence; and 
Whereas recent and unparalleled growth in scientific knowledge 
about mental illness has generated the current emergence of a 
new threshold of opportunity for future research advances and 
fruitful application to specific clinical problems: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled. That the 7-day period 
beginning October 7, 1990, and ending October 13, 1990, is des-
ignated as "Mental Illness Awareness Week", and the President is 
authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the 
people of the United States to observe that week with appropriate 
ceremonies and activities. 
Approved August 9, 1990. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S.J. Res. 256: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990): 
June 18, considered and passed Senate. 
July 31, considered and passed House.