Bill > S1689

This bill, called the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act of 2025, aims to address mental health challenges and reduce stigma within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) population. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a national outreach and education strategy specifically designed to meet the diverse cultural and linguistic needs of AANHPI communities, which will increase awareness about mental health symptoms, provide culturally appropriate information about treatments, and engage community members. The legislation mandates two key systematic reviews: one focusing on the behavioral health crisis among AANHPI youth, examining prevalence, risk factors, suicide rates, and treatment access, and another investigating strategies to increase the AANHPI behavioral health workforce by assessing current workforce demographics, barriers to entry, and recommendations for improvement. Additionally, the bill requires annual reports to Congress detailing the progress and findings of these initiatives and authorizes approximately $6 million in funding over five years ($3 million for the outreach strategy and $1.5 million each for the youth and workforce reviews). The bill is driven by concerning statistics, such as low mental health service utilization among AANHPI individuals and high suicide rates among AANHPI youth, and seeks to address systemic barriers like cultural stigma and limited access to culturally competent mental health services.

Health and Social Services

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1689/all-info