Did you know?
On May 21, 2008, the US House of Representatives passed (with concurrence of the Senate) the resolution that the month of July would henceforth be recognized as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.
You can read the actual text of the resolution itself here, but we do want to highlight a handful of the statistics that are specifically mentioned therein...
- Nearly 2/3 (or 67%) of all people with a diagnosable mental illness do not seek medical treatment.
- African Americans experience a much greater unmet need for mental health services and receive a lesser quality of care, thereby resulting in mental health disparities.
- Adult Caucasians who suffer from depression or an anxiety disorder are more likely to receive treatment than adult African Americans with the same disorders.
- Minority mental health consumers often fall into the category of the "working poor'', facing additional challenges because they are underinsured or uninsured, which often leads to late diagnosis or no diagnosis of mental illness.
There is much more to be learned if you click the link provided above.
You can also check out Mental Health America's BIPOC Mental Health Hub for a wealth of information.