Declaring the Month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month in the City of Philadelphia.

Declaring the Month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month in the City of Philadelphia. WHEREAS, Since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has been recognized across the United States to raise awareness about mental health conditions, reduce stigma, and encourage people to seek support; and WHEREAS, Mental health is a public health crisis. In Philadelphia, nearly 1 in 4 adults report experiencing frequent mental distress. Youth mental health is also in crisis, according to the Philadelphia Youth Risk Behavior Survey, over 37% of high school students reported feeling so sad or hopeless they stopped doing usual activities, and nearly 1 in 5 said they had seriously considered suicide; and WHEREAS, Structural inequities and community violence contribute significantly to mental health outcomes in Philadelphia. Black and Latino communities face higher barriers to accessing timely and affordable mental health care, while also experiencing higher rates of trauma. In 2023, more than 1,400 lives were lost to drug overdoses in Philadelphia, over 80% of which involved opioids, often connected to untreated or undertreated mental health conditions; and WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia, through the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS), supports a wide range of services to help residents manage mental health, including crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, school-based programs, and peer support. In 2023, DBHIDS fielded more than 25,000 calls t…