Increasing Mental Health Services

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shine light on a critical subject that impacts each one of us, as well as the ones we love: mental health.

Established by Congress in 1949, May was designated as Mental Health Awareness Month to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness.

Mental health is about more than just illness. It is about well- being, resilience, and the ability to cope with various challenges we experience day to day. These challenges don't discriminate. They impact people of every age, background, and community. Many suffer in silence out of fear of being judged or misunderstood.

For many years, this topic was highly stigmatized, but this is, fortunately, changing. This month, I am honored to bring attention to it. Mental Health Awareness Month is part of that change and a reminder to prioritize rest, connection, and the things that contribute to our overall wellness.

In our great Buckeye State, we are grateful to have multiple resources available to help Ohioans in times of need. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction provides resources and readily available services with their Ohio CareLine available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to offer emotional support. By simply dialing 988, anyone in our Nation can access the national mental health hotline, which offers free and confidential support from trained counselors around the clock.

I thank our local mental health providers, support workers, and first responders for the critical work they do to intervene in times of need. Without their timely response and attentive care, our region could not be the healthy and supportive place it is today.

I recognize our local police officers, who are often the first ones on the scene of an emergency and the first wave of assistance for someone experiencing a mental health emergency. They are heroes, lifesavers, and an irreplaceable cornerstone in our communities who help Ohioans live their lives to the fullest.

With agriculture being the backbone of southern Ohio, our region is home to countless farmers, ranchers, and producers who work hard to secure our Nation's food supply and put food on our families' tables. They work long hours out in the fields, often on their own, trying to turn a crop and a profit in a challenging farming economy.

Being isolated from the resources that are available in more urban areas, farmers and farming families are facing a significant mental health challenge. With 96 percent of farms in Ohio's Second Congressional District being family farms, this demonstrates how close to home this issue hits my district.

With the devastatingly high rate of mental health challenges and substance abuse issues across our country, where a person lives shouldn't dictate their ability to access critical healthcare services.

Tragically, Ohio's Second Congressional District has the highest rate of unintentional drug overdoses in our entire State, which is often linked to mental health challenges. That is why I was proud to introduce the Rural Wellness Act in March of this year, which will reauthorize the prioritization of grants for telemedicine projects addressing behavioral and mental health, including substance abuse. These grants are part of the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development's Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program. It will make mental health care services more accessible to those who need them.

Congress should pass this bill to deliver critical care to farmers and rural families who so desperately need it. However, in order to access telehealthcare services, Congress must also prioritize broadband expansion for our Nation's rural areas.

Rural families desperately need telehealthcare services. These are only accessible if families have internet access. Large swaths of my district lack access to high-speed internet, which means rural families are isolated from critical healthcare options, as well as business and education opportunities that could support families and alleviate some of the stress that providers are feeling.

Congress must tackle this problem holistically. In this case, getting broadband to our rural families could make the difference between life and death. All in all, expanded broadband access would lead to significant mental health benefits in our rural communities.

As we recognize Mental Health Awareness Month, may each of us take a moment to prioritize wellness and reach out to those around us who might need a helping hand.

I thank each friend, family member, teacher, community leader, or public servant who has lent their support to someone experiencing mental health challenges for their service. It is because of people like them that communities are safer, healthier, and more supportive places to live.

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