Lawmakers introduce bill to improve mental health resources for LGBTQ youth

A bill introduced by House Democrats this week seeks to bolster mental health support for young LGBTQ people across the nation.

The Pride in Mental Health Act, filed Tuesday by Democratic Reps. Eric Sorensen (Ill.), Sharice Davids (Kan.) and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.) — three of 12 openly LGBTQ members of the current Congress — aims to develop mental health resources, school bullying prevention guidelines and training for caregivers that are tailored to the needs of LGBTQ youth, according to a news release issued Thursday.

The legislation, which has 47 Democratic co-sponsors, would additionally commission a report on the state of mental health care and resources available to LGBTQ youth in foster care and other federal social service programs. Young LGBTQ people in the U.S. are overrepresented in foster care and unstable housing, a 2019 Williams Institute analysis found.

The measure would also charge the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with reviewing and updating a list of online mental health resources for LGBTQ youth, the release said. The official bill text has not yet been published.

In a statement, Sorensen touted the proposed legislation as a critical step toward ensuring LGBTQ people “get the mental health care and resources they need so we can save lives.”

“There is a mental health crisis among LGBTQI+ youth across the United States, and we need to do a better job supporting this vulnerable community,” the Illinois lawmaker said.

A report released last month by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization, found 41 percent of LGBTQ children, teens and young adults in the U.S. had seriously considered suicide over the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary respondents.

More than 56 percent of LGBTQ young people who wanted mental health care in the last year were not able to get it, according to the report. The Trevor Project also found a third of LGBTQ young people believe their mental health has been negatively impacted by a recent tidal wave of legislation around the country targeting the community.

Findings from other studies paint a similarly bleak picture. More than half of young LGBTQ respondents in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey in February said their mental health has been poor over the past year, and a staggering 22 percent said they had attempted suicide.

“This is both heartbreaking and a call to action,” Torres said Thursday, referring to findings from the Trevor Project report.

Torres, who has been open about his struggles with depression, added that the bill will “improve access to services for at-risk LGBTQI+ youth, who deserve safe and affirming environments and resources to learn, grow, and thrive as their authentic selves.”

Davids on Thursday argued the prevalence of reported mental health struggles among LGBTQ youth in the U.S. is evidence “we are failing many of our most vulnerable children on this issue.”

“My Pride in Mental Health Act takes a comprehensive and data-driven approach to tackling the mental health crisis among youth in the LGBTQI+ community,” Davids said. “To put it simply, by increasing access to mental health supports for our children and teens, we are saving lives.”

The legislation has been endorsed by a wide range of LGBTQ rights groups and medical organizations including the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Congressional Equality Caucus — of which Sorensen, Davids and Torres are co-chairs — has also endorsed the bill.