Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
311933919
label
Mental Illness Awareness Week [1987]
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
311933919
contentType
document
title
Mental Illness Awareness Week [1987]
citationUrl
identifierLocal
RR-108
collections
Records of the White House Correspondence Office
Proclamations Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
311933919
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
dc55f044c0d7c649
ocrText
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Correspondence, White House Office of:
Records, 1981-89
Folder Title: Mental Illness Awareness Week
Box: Box 81 (1987)
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digitized-textual-material
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Inventories, visit:
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/white-house-inventories
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/research-
support/citation-guide
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
Last Updated: 05/23/2023
THE OF THE UNITED
OF
Mental Illness Awareness Week, 1987
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Mental illnesses afflict the rich and the poor, the young and the old. They respect neither race nor gender,
robbing millions of Americans of full, productive, and happy lives. Millions more-relatives, friends, and co-
workers-share the pain.
This pain is all the more regrettable because much of it is needless. Stigma, rooted in fear and ignorance,
keeps many mentally ill citizens from getting the help they need. Adults in the prime of life are incapacitated
by symptoms that could be prevented or ameliorated with appropriate treatments. Children, our most
important resource for the future, are unable to reach their full potential because early symptoms are ignored
and manifestations like alcohol and drug abuse often go unrecognized. Elderly citizens, the fastest growing
segment of our population, are prematurely relegated to long-term care facilities due to improper diagnosis
and lack of treatment.
The costs of inappropriate or inadequate response to mental illness are enormous. Economic losses alone can
be measured in the billions of dollars, but the cost in human suffering is incalculable. Untreated mentally ill
adults cannot work, ignored mentally ill children cannot learn, and misdiagnosed older citizens cannot
contribute. Worst of all, young and old, bereft of hope, sometimes take their lives. Appropriate treatments can
relieve suffering and save lives. They can also restore productivity and increase independence-helping
Americans to continue contributing to, rather than become dependent on, society.
Americans can avoid the temptation to stigmatize those with mental illnesses by learning more about their
causes and treatments. They must recognize that mental disorders are not due to personal weakness, but are
heavily influenced by environmental stresses, genetic vulnerabilities, and biochemical and brain dysfunc-
tions. Americans should know about, and use to its potential, the scientific progress that has brought an array
of new treatments. Symptoms that once disabled can be alleviated. Dysfunctional behavior and thinking
patterns that once crippled can be corrected. Psychological disorders that once undermined personal
happiness can be ameliorated through counseling and therapy.
Further, Americans can take hope in a future enlightened by today's research. New technologies permit study
of the living brain, shedding light on the neurochemical processes that underlie emotion, behavior, and
thought. Genetic studies delve into the very substance of life, opening new insights into the causes and
possible prevention of some of our most devastating mental illnesses. With knowledge, there is hope. With
hope, there is progress.
In recognition that Americans need to know more about mental illnesses and their treatments, the Congress,
by Public Law 100-81, has designated the week of October 4 through October 10, 1987, as "Mental Illness
Awareness Week" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in its observance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the
week beginning October 4, 1987, as Mental Illness Awareness Week. I call upon the people of the United
States to observe this week with ceremonies and activities that will enhance the well-being of this Nation by
increasing understanding and knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred
and twelfth.
Ronald Reagan