Whereas mental health and physical health are inseparable; Whereas mental health conditions require the same degree of attention as physical health conditions; Whereas mental health and substance use parity requirements for health insurance plans must be firmly enforced; Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2022, 49,476 Americans lost their lives to suicide, and a reported 105,384 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses in 2023; Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, mental health and many common mental disorders are significantly shaped by the social, economic, and physical environments in which people live; Whereas social vulnerability, a metric that quantifies the impact of the social determinants of health on county-level populations, is directly associated with risk for adult suicide; Whereas, according to research published in Addictive Behaviors Reports, adults with a history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have a 4.3-fold higher likelihood of developing a substance use disorder; Whereas cultural stigma against mental health disorders is an especially notable social determinant of mental health; Whereas there is a growing body of research on the association between mental health stigma and suicidal actions, but more research must be done to identify a causal relationship; Whereas cultural stigma against mental illness can lead individuals to engage in self-medicative practices, such as illicit drug use, instead of seeking out professional assistance; Whereas, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), among adults aged 18 or older in 2021, those with serious mental illness (SMI) or any mental illness (AMI) were more likely than those without mental illness to have used illicit drugs in the past year (50.2 percent for SMI and 39.7 percent for AMI verses 17.7 percent for adults aged 18 or older with no mental illness)