Whereas mental health and physical health are inseparable;

Whereas mental health conditions require the same degree of attention as physical health conditions;

Whereas mental health and substance use parity requirements for health insurance plans must be firmly enforced;

Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (in this resolution referred to as CDC), in 2023, suicide was responsible for 49,316 deaths, or about 1 death every 11 minutes;

Whereas, according to the CDC, in 2023, an estimated 110,037 lives were lost to drug overdoses;

Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, mental health and many common mental disorders are significantly shaped by the social, economic, and physical environments in which people live;

Whereas social vulnerability, a metric that quantifies the impact of the social determinants of health on county-level populations, is directly associated with risk for adult suicide;

Whereas, according to research published in Addictive Behaviors Reports, adults with a history of adverse childhood experiences (in this resolution referred to as ACEs) have a 4.3-fold higher likelihood of developing a substance use disorder;

Whereas cultural stigma against mental health disorders is an especially notable social determinant of mental health;

Whereas there is a growing body of research on the association between mental health stigma and suicidal actions;

Whereas additional research must be conducted to better understand the relationship;

Whereas cultural stigma against mental illness can lead individuals to engage in self-medication practices, such as illicit drug use, instead of seeking out professional assistance;

Whereas, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (in this resolution referred to as SAMHSA) 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report, an estimated 23.4 percent, or 61,500,000, adults aged 18 or older reported having any mental illness (in this resolution referred to as AMI) in the past year;

Whereas, according to SAMHSA, an estimated 5.6 percent, or 14,600,000, adults aged 18 or older reported having a serious mental illness (in this resolution referred to as SMI) in the past year;

Whereas, according to SAMHSA, in 2024, among adults aged 18 or older, those who reported having SMI or AMI in the past year were more likely to have been past year users of illicit drugs than those without mental illness in the past year;

Whereas, according to SAMHSA, 57.4 percent of adults aged 18 or older with SMI and 44.1 percent of adults with AMI reported to have been past-year users of illicit drugs;

Whereas 21.2 percent for adults aged 18 or older with no mental illness reported to have been past year users of illicit drugs;

Whereas, according to SAMHSA, in 2024, 16.8 percent of individuals aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder in the past year;

Whereas, to prevent the perpetuation of this dangerous cycle, mental health education and awareness must begin from an early age, and school-based mental health resources must be better utilized and better funded to achieve this goal; and

Whereas mental illness stigma, and specifically self-stigma, is a significant barrier to mental health services for adolescents and adults that must be addressed: Now, therefore, be it