HOUSE MEMORIAL 60

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Deborah A. Armstrong

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO PROCLAIM MAY 2016 "MENTAL HEALTH MONTH" IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, good mental health is essential to everyone's overall health and well-being; and

     WHEREAS, all Americans experience times of difficulty and stress in their lives; and

     WHEREAS, prevention is an effective way to reduce the burden of mental illness; and

     WHEREAS, there is a strong body of research that supports specific tools that all Americans can use to better handle emotional challenges and protect their health and well-being; and

     WHEREAS, mental illness is real and prevalent in the nation; and

     WHEREAS, with effective treatment, individuals living with mental illness can recover and lead full, productive lives; and

     WHEREAS, each business, school, government agency, health care provider, organization and resident in New Mexico shares the burden of mental illness and has a responsibility to promote mental wellness and support prevention efforts; and

     WHEREAS, the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative is in its seventh year of a ten-year process to streamline behavioral health services and to promote recovery and resiliency through support services across the state in an effort to build healthy families from infants to adults; and

     WHEREAS, the national mental health association, the federal substance abuse and mental health services administration and the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative and its eighteen local collaboratives observe mental health month every May to raise awareness and understanding of mental illness and mental health;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to proclaim May 2016 "Mental Health Month" in the state of New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that residents, government agencies, public and private institutions, businesses and schools throughout New Mexico be requested to recommit their communities to increasing awareness and understanding of mental health, the steps that residents can take to protect their mental health and the need for appropriate and accessible services for all people living with mental illness; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the governor.

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