Legislation to provide more funding and resources for addressing a growing mental health crisis and persistent disparities was reintroduced yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, a development that was praised by NYU Silver Dean Michael A. Lindsey.
Titled the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act, the bill was originally introduced in 2020 following a report that was commissioned by the Congressional Black Caucus’ Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, which Congresswoman Watson Coleman chairs.
Dean Lindsey led the Taskforce’s working group of experts which created the report, entitled Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America. The report’s findings and policy recommendations informed the legislation, which, according to Rep. Watson Coleman’s announcement yesterday, “would authorize $995 million in grants and other funding to support research, improve the pipeline of culturally competent providers, build outreach programs that reduce stigma, and develop a training program for providers to effectively manage disparities.”
Dean Lindsey applauded Congresswoman Watson Coleman for reintroducing the Act, which passed the House in 2021 but did not get a vote in the Senate. “Research shows that the nation’s growing mental health crisis has impacted communities of color especially hard,” said Dean Lindsey. “The provisions of the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act are needed more than ever, to fund resources for the mental health needs of hard-hit communities, as well as to enable more clinical research and interventions. We are grateful to Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, the bill’s co-sponsors and the Congressional Black Caucus for taking action to save lives.”
Read Congresswoman Watson Coleman’s announcement to learn more.
