Representative Adriano Espaillat Urges Increased Funding for School-based Mental Health Access for BIPOC Youth.
Espaillat Introduces a Resolution to Support Mental Health Access for Black, Indigenous, and Youth of Color.
NEW YORK, NY – Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) recently introduced a resolution calling on Congress to support mental health access to Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) youth by funding school-based mental health services.
“The rate of suicide among BIPOC youth is alarming, and it is critical we address this issue on the national level so families and schools across our communities have the necessary resources needed to combat this crisis,” said Rep. Espaillat. “The global public health pandemic ravaged the mental health and wellness of our communities, and there is a clear cry for help among BIPOC youth who were impacted at disproportionately higher rate than their peers. Black children under the age of 13 are dying by suicide at nearly twice the rate of their White counterparts and suicide is the leading cause of death among AAPI children. Additionally, insufficient mental health services paired with the stigma surrounding those very resources has contributed to what we are now witnessing as a mental health tsunami among American youth with effects growing even more rapidly among youth of color. We have a responsibility to support our vulnerable populations—and my resolution ensures we do not leave BIPOC youth behind in our efforts to address mental health needs for all.”
Espaillat’s legislation, H. Res 1217 - Addressing the National Crisis of Suicide Among Minority Youth, acknowledges the need to remedy current deficiencies in our nation’s mental system, particularly to address the needs of minority youth. Rep. Espaillat is urging for federal funding to be directed toward organizations who persistently work to close racial and socioeconomic disparities in mental health services across this nation, and specifically calls on Congress to ensure that school based mental health services are adequately funded.
Read the H. Res 1217Addressing the National Crisis of Suicide Among Minority Youth in its entirety here.
The resolution is supported by the National Alliance on Mental Health and National Council of Urban Indian Health and 12 original cosponsors including: Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), David Trone (MD-06), Karen Bass (CA-37), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Shontel M. Brown (OH-11), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Albio Sires (NJ-08), and Ritchie Torres (NY-15).
Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/. | 
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