Representatives Adriano Espaillat and Mike Lawler Introduces New Bipartisan Legislation Addressing Community Mental Health

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Representative Mike Lawler (NY-17) introduced the Community Mental Wellness Worker Training Act, a consequential piece of legislation aimed at increasing the availability of mental health services and providing adequate care to underserved communities.

According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, an estimated one in five U.S. adults live with mental illness. However, only half of individuals in need have received mental health services in the past year. This legislation would create a grant program to allow certified community behavioral health clinics, community mental health centers, hospitals, and other behavioral health organizations to train mental wellness workers and increase resources for the community. 

“Communities around the nation are facing a mental health tsunami, and our bill will address the national crisis at hand as well as specifically train and support local healthcare workers who have the cultural competency and context to best serve their neighbors,” said Representative Espaillat. “Expanding mental health resources that take into account culture and language considerations, will help decrease stigmas that communities, particularly minority communities, face when addressing mental health and getting the support individuals need. Our bill will create a framework tailored to remove barriers that have long prevented marginalized communities from seeking mental health services as well as provide federal grant funding to ensure these services are in place when needed.” 

“More than one in five Americans struggle with mental illness, nearly one in ten suffer from depression in any given year, and over 16% have battled substance abuse in the past year,” said Representative Lawler. “With a rising mental health crisis and addiction epidemic, there has never been a greater need for mental wellness workers. That’s why I’m proud to join Congressman Espaillat in introducing the Community Mental Wellness Worker Training Act. This legislation will address the critical shortfall in mental health workers by training the next generation of specialists, ensuring individuals in the Hudson Valley and across our nation get the care they deserve.” 

“The workforce shortage makes it difficult to meet increased demand for mental health and substance use treatment and care, so it’s vitally important that we expand our approach to who can identify and respond to mental health challenges,” said National Council for Mental Wellbeing President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia. “The Community Mental Wellness Worker Training Act would accomplish that goal and much more. It expands the behavioral health workforce and creates jobs, while giving communities more resources to meet demand. We applaud Rep. Espaillat and Rep. Lawler for introducing this measure to develop a new workforce pipeline into the field to help those in need of treatment and care.”

“The Columbia Mental Wellness Equity Center is thrilled that this important legislation is being introduced. Expanding the workforce through this legislation’s support for lay provider training to provide immediate access to quality mental health care supervised by mental health specialists is a critical step in addressing the urgent challenges we face with mental health and substance use inequities and service access,” said Milton Wainberg, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Columbia Mental Wellness Equity Center.

Representative Espaillat has long advocated for underserved populations in healthcare and mental health training. 

The following organizations have endorsed the Espaillat-Lawler legislation: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Mental Health Counselors Association, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, American Occupational Therapy Association, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Global Alliance for Behavioral Health & Social Justice, Huntington’s Disease Society, International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, National Disability Rights Network, National League for Nursing, Psychotherapy Action Network, The Kennedy Forum, Western Youth Services and Postpartum Support International. To view their official letter of support, click here.

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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fourth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 118th Congress. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Deputy Chair as well as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov