Trone Hosts Virtual Conversation with National Alliance on Mental Illness in Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2022
Contact: Sasha Galbreath, Sasha.Galbreath@mail.house.gov
Trone Hosts Virtual Conversation with National Alliance on Mental Illness in Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month
Rep. Trone and Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer for NAMI, discuss Mental Health Awareness Month. You can watch the full video here.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Congressman David Trone (MD-06) hosted a “Trone Talk” with Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer for National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). During the conversation, the two discussed youth mental health, racial and ethnic disparities in behavioral health treatment, and the importance of ending the stigma surrounding treatment.
To watch the full video, click here.
According to NAMI, the average time span between onset of symptoms of a mental illness and proper treatment is 11 years. This unacceptable delay can be partially blamed on stigma, but the lack of access to support continues to be a hurdle. Congressman Trone, through his Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force, has introduced a host of bills to solve this problem, including the Comprehensive Mental Health in Schools Pilot Program Act of 2021.
“More than one-third of Americans live in areas without sufficient mental health resources, and Black and brown communities are disproportionately under-treated,” Congressman Trone said. “This is a dangerous reality, but we’re working hard to close the gap. It’s clear that we need to expand the capacity and diversity of our mental health workforce to help our communities on the ground.”
“Black youth are dying by suicide at a much higher rate than their peers,” Hannah Wesolowski said. “It’s unacceptable. We need a workforce that looks like the people it’s serving, that comes from the community that they’re serving. We need culturally competent care.”
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Veterans’ Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees in the 117th Congress. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.
Follow Congressman Trone at @RepDavidTrone for updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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