Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Declaring Intent
Purpose: Declaring May 2026 "Mental Health Awareness Month"
Additional Information:
Sponsor: Council Member-at-Large, Louise Scott-Rountree
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WHEREAS; the month of May was first designated as Mental Health Awareness Month in 1949, with the goal to increase awareness of mental illness and wellness. However, this was decades in the making before Mental Health Awareness Month was initially recognized by the Mental Health America, organization whose first iteration was founded in 1908; and
WHEREAS, originally the Connecticut Society for Mental Hygiene, the organization was founded by Clifford Beers, an author who had written about his struggles with mental health and the problematic treatments he endured at different institutions. President Harry Truman, in a special message to Congress in 1945, recommended a comprehensive health program and specified a need for more research and resources for mental health; and
WHEREAS, this eventually culminated in Truman signing of the National Mental Health Act in 1946, which included a call for establishing a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).? The NIMH was officially established as an institute of the National Institute of Health in 1949 - the same year as the first Mental Health Awareness Month.
WHEREAS, decades since the inception of Mental Health Awareness Month, research, legislation, and public awareness have accelerated the cause. Even the duration has grown; Mental Health America's initial 1949 awareness campaign lasted only a week but eventually was expanded to the entirety of May.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council proclaims May...
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