; Whereas, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 33.5 percent of United States adults with mental illness also experienced a substance use disorder in 2021, which is over, 19,400,000 individuals; Whereas, according to a 2022 literature review of 38 studies on mental health and opioid overdose, nearly all reviewed studies found a connection between mental disorder and overdose; Whereas, to prevent the perpetuation of this dangerous cycle, mental health education and awareness must begin from an early age, and school-based mental health resources must be better utilized and better funded to achieve this goal; Whereas 1 in 5 children living in the United States experience a mental disorders every year, and an estimated 49.5 percent of adolescents had experienced a mental health disorder; and Whereas mental illness stigma, and specifically self-stigma, is a significant barrier to mental health services for adolescents and adults that must be addressed: Now, therefore, be it