APA Honors Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman for Her Work to Improve Mental Health Care

APA has selectedRep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) as this year ’s winner of its Jacob K. Javits Award for Public Service for her commitment and dedication to increase patient access to mental health and substance use disorder services.The Javits Award recognizes a federal and/or state public servant who has made outstanding contributions to the mental health community. It honors the legacy of Sen. Jacob K. Javits of New York, who achieved many successes on behalf of those with mental illness. The award was presented this past weekend during APA ’s online federal advocacy conference.“Rep. Watson Coleman’s leadership is critical to our nation’s mental health,” said APA President Vivian Pender, M.D., in anAPA news release. “Her focus on health equities goes beyond simply funding the services that are needed, but to a wider lens of understanding how social determinants are impacting the mental health of diverse communities around the nation.”In 2018, Watson Coleman convened a congressional hearing to discuss suicides among Black youth afterdata revealed that their suicide death rate was increasing faster than in other racial/ethnic groups. The following year, Watson Coleman helped to establish theCongressional Black Caucus (CBC) Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health. The task force created a work group of Black mental health experts and advocates to identify the causes driving this crisis and possible solutions (past APA President Altha St...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Black youth Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health Javits Award Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman Saul Levin Vivian Pender Source Type: research