Mental Health Awareness Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month. We have got to realize that one in six adults in the United States lives with a mental illness. However, only 43 percent of them receive any sort of treatment.

I saw this firsthand as a prosecutor, as many, not all, but many men, women, and even juveniles were behind bars because of a mental illness. Unfortunately, due to the cutbacks in funding and the legislature's cutting back on sentences, many failed to receive the proper treatment, and what we had was a revolving door where we no longer could rely on the criminal justice system to house and treat those with mental illnesses.

Fortunately, in my district on the Central Coast of California, we have many organizations that realize this and attempt to provide proper services, including Interim, Parent's Place, and the Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties Behavioral Health Departments.

So now it is Congress' time to play their part. We, on the bipartisan Mental Health Caucus, are committed to ensuring accessible mental treatment. Good mental health this month and every month for all ages of life and all walks of life contribute to the overall health of our communities, and that is why we should continue to work to fund and provide mental health services throughout our country.

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