Governor Proclaims Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, Mental Health Awareness Month is part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness of mental health illnesses, to reduce the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, and to increase awareness of tools and resources to prevent such challenges and promote recovery; and

Whereas, nearly one in four adults in North Carolina have reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, more than one in three North Carolina high school students and nearly one in three middle school students have reported feeling sad or hopeless, as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of children and adults have lingered long after the acute phase of the pandemic; and

Whereas, while mental illness is highly treatable, only half of adults nationwide receive the treatment necessary for their mental health; and

Whereas, Medicaid is the single largest payer of mental health services in the United States, covering nearly one in three (29 percent) of non-elderly adults who live with mental illness; and

Whereas, North Carolina must increase its mental health workforce investments, as 94 of 100 North Carolina counties face a shortage of mental health professionals, 43 North Carolina counties have no child psychiatrists, more than 50 percent of behavioral health providers reported experiencing symptoms of burnout in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and behavioral health professionals are historically underfunded compared to physical health professionals; and

Whereas, North Carolina has invested significant state and federal resources to transform the state’s behavioral health system to improve access to mental health services for children, youth, and adults, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is implementing a comprehensive billion-dollar multi-year behavioral health plan to expand access to supports and services; and

Whereas, the State of North Carolina encourages all people to recommit to increasing their awareness and understanding of mental illness, improve the array of mental health services for people of all ages, expand the use of peer services, and work to eradicate stigma and ensure that those who are struggling know that they are not alone;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 2025, as “Mental Health Awareness Month” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

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 first day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.