During Hearing on Mental Health Crisis, Larson Highlights the Need Act

Washington, D.C. - During today's Ways and Means Committee hearing Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) highlighted the need for action to address the nation's mental health crisis. Dr. Wizdom Powell, Director of the Health Disparities Institute and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UConn Health testified at the hearing.

Click here to see Larson's remarks.

"I have found that whenever you doubt what's going on in America and you look at its future, travel to one of our schools. Last week, I visited Glastonbury High School in Connecticut and I met three extraordinary students who won our district's Congressional App Challenge: Rahul, Niteesh, and Jude. These exceptional students developed a mental health app because they recognized that their own peers were experiencing extraordinary stress because of the pandemic and also because of the concerns with respect to fentanyl and the opiate crisis. It says a lot when you have high school students recognize mental health and the epidemic and feel that there is a need for them to act.

"St. Francis Hospital in Hartford says there are as many as 200 adults and 90 children seeking care for behavior health in emergency rooms in Connecticut on any given day. We need to act to address this crisis now. I have spoken to the Connecticut's Children's Hospital which has really emphasized that what we need to address mental health care for children is to support strong families. We passed the Child Tax Credit on this Committee that was spearheaded by Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Suzan DelBene. In her response, Dr. Powell agreed that childhood poverty is a significant barrier towards mental health and the ability to receive treatment. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the Committee to address these barriers."

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