ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND PACIFIC ISLANDER MENTAL HEALTH DAY
2024
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities are among the fastest growing and most diverse racial groups in the United States; they have made remarkable economic, political, and social contributions, and have grown by 67 percent in North Carolina since 2010; and
WHEREAS, nearly 23 percent of Americans experience and are diagnosed with a mental health condition in a given year, impacting all communities regardless of race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender among other factors; and
WHEREAS, there is a critical need to raise awareness about mental health, particularly within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, to destigmatize seeking help, and to gain access to culturally and linguistically competent community services; and
WHEREAS, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders use mental health services at the lowest rates among ethnic populations; this may be due to the substantial stigma that exists among their communities, as well as cultural and linguistic needs of the communities, families, and individuals; and
WHEREAS, there is a critical need to raise awareness about and advocate for health care policies that increase the accessibility of mental health care services; and
WHEREAS, raising awareness about the mental health of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities encourages professional interest in health and human services careers and fosters a diversified workforce that reflects the community;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 10, 2024, as “ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND PACIFIC ISLANDER MENTAL HEALTH DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
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Roy Cooper
Governor
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this ninth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
