HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTIONS - 10041994 - 94-474 Board of Supervisors
Of
Contra Costa County, State of California
IN THE MATTER DECLARING OCTOBER 2-8,1994 ]
AS MENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS WEB( IN CONTRA ] RESOLUTION NO. 94/474
COSTA COUNTY ]
WHEREAS, serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and the major depressions are
now known to be diseases of the brain and not caused by individual weaknesses or poor
family life, and that one in three Americans will experience a mental illness during their
lives. Only one in five will seek help; and
WHEREAS, a recent National Advisory Mental Health Council study gives sweeping evidence
that treatment of mental illnesses are as effective and sometimes more effective than
other illnesses; and that during any six month period, 27 million American adults over age
1 B, and 12 million children suffer from diagnosable mental illness; and
WHEREAS, the aim is to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of treatment for mental
illnesses, to promote mental health and prevent the development or worsening of mental
illnesses when possible and to discourage the uses of illegal substances when used in place
of excellent.prospects for remedy and recovery as the mental disability is properly
recognized; and
WHEREAS, mental disorders result in major economic costs to society which are estimated
to be in excess of $44 billion annually with an estimated 250 million days lost from work
each year, and including direct treatment, support costs and indirect costs in lost
productivity, and
WHEREAS, persons with mental illnesses and their families are stigmatized by the
uninformed and intimated by the misinformed thereby being doubly victimized by the illness.
They have begun to seek self help to combat the unfair stigma of the diseases and support
greater investment in research and advocate for a continuum of care from the hospital to
the community.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this Board of Supervisors, County of Contra
Costa, State of California, does hereby proclaim the week of October 2 through B, 1994 as
Mental Illness Awareness Week.
PASSED AND ADOPTED ON Octobe 4, 19941 by a unanimous vote of a Board members
P nt.
Z4
e Bishop
Tom Powers, Chair
Mark DeSaulnier Tom Torlakson
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of an order entered on the
Minutes of said Board of Supervisors on the aforesaid date.
Witness my hand and the Seal of
the Board of Supervisors affuced
this 4th day of October, 1994.
PHIL BATCHELOR, County Administrator
and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By
Deputy Clerk