May is Mental Health Awareness Month

By Teresa Anderson, Public Policy Director, The Arc / UCP California Collaboration

Research shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience a higher rate of mental health conditions than people without a disability. Depression and anxiety are among the most commonly reported mental health conditions for people with IDD, yet many people with IDD experience significant barriers when it comes to accessing mental health services. The National Alliance on Mental Illness has published their Mental Health Awareness Partner Guide to help support and coordinate public awareness efforts aimed at improving the mental health care system. The Partner Guide shares several ways you can engage in raising awareness about the need to strengthen the mental health system, and can be found here: https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/PDFs/2022-MHM-PARTNER-Guide_FINAL.pdf