Thompson, Castor, Sonoma Academy Students Lead Climate Resolution on Mental Health Impact on Students

Washington – This week, Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-05) and Kathy Castor (FL-14) alongside two students from Sonoma Academy introduced House Resolution 975 that addresses the impact of recurrent climate-related disasters on the mental health of young people. This comes as Congressman Thompson and Congresswoman Castor hold a town hall tonight on climate change for the residents of California's Fifth District.

"Youth are experiencing an unprecedented level of climate anxiety and the mental health impacts of recurrent climate-related disasters on youth are a threat to their well-being," said Thompson. "Our young people need support to be resilient as they face today's increasing climate disasters and ultimately take on the issue of fighting for climate justice. I am so proud of Madigan and Giselle for their leadership and advocacy on this issue, and I am honored to introduce this resolution in support of all youth concerned about climate change."

"As we work to address the costly impacts that climate-fueled disasters have on our economy, our infrastructure, and the pocketbooks of Americans, we must also address the harmful effect they have on the mental health of our children and neighbors," said Chair Castor. "These mental health impacts are especially hard on young Americans, who stand up every day demanding we act on climate with urgency. I commend Giselle and Madigan for becoming climate leaders at such a young age – and I promise to keep fighting for the world they will inherit."

"New reports about the negative effects of climate change on people, youth, our planet and our future are continually coming out with horrific findings. This is an issue where it is imperative that youth voices are heard because the frightening statistics are about our futures. We have had an incredible experience working with Representative Thompson, he and his staff have made the process seamless and have ensured our resolution has remained everything we wanted it to be," said Giselle Perez, Junior at Sonoma Academy.

"Youth voices being acknowledged and brought forward in policy is more important than ever as the climate crisis begins to drastically affect the mental health of young people everywhere. We have been given the responsibility of solving a problem that can only be addressed systemically, because we have limited time to make effective change, so it's essential that we have the support of our representatives though this process. Representative Thompson has approached our resolution with integrity and so much dedication to acknowledging this issue with efficiency, and we are so grateful for the adult voices that guide us through becoming activists and leaders at such a young age," said Madigan Traversi, Junior at Sonoma Academy.

This House resolution, written by high school climate advocates and sponsored by two climate leaders in the House of Representatives, raises awareness about the mental health pandemic of youth climate anxiety, the disproportionate impact of climate mental health issues on the youth in black, indigenous, and people of color communities, and calls for funding for resources to support the mental health of young people affected by the climate crisis.

This resolution is already endorsed by over 70 organizations, including Action for the Climate Emergency, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Federation of Teachers, American Medical Student Association , American Public Health Association, American Psychological Association, Animals Are Sentient Beings Inc, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, Association of Young Americans (AYA) , Austin Climate Coalition, Aytzim: Ecological Judaism, California Environmental Voters, California Urgent Care Association, Climate Dads, Climate Generation, Climate Psychiatry Alliance, Climate Psychology Alliance of North America, ClimateMama, Communities for a Better Environment, Community Health Councils, Community Leadership Consulting, Earth Guardians, Earth Uprising, Eco America/Climate for Health, Empower our Future, Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area, Fairview Net Zero Environmental Club, Florida Student Power Network, Fridays for Future US, GenUp, Health Care Without Harm, Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, Howling For Wolves, Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship's Climate Action Campaign, Indigenous Environmental Network, International Transformational Resilience Coalition, Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light, Let's Green CA!, Locust Point Community Garden, Medical Students for a Sustainable Future, Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance, Moms Clean Air Force, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, National Black Council of School Board Members, National Children's Campaign, National Indian Education Association, National Network of Public Health Institutes, National Wildlife Federation, New Mexico Climate Justice, Next Generation Politics, North American Association for Environmental Education, Our Climate, Prevention Institute, Public Health Institute, Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring, River Valley Organizing, Saphron Initiative, South Seattle Climate Action Network, Terra Advocati, The Children's Agenda, The Cleo Institute, The Climate Initiative, The Environmental Health Leadership Foundation, The Jed Foundation, This Is Zero Hour, UndauntedK12, UNICEF USA, WaterSpirit.

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