The simple truth about mental health.

Mental Health

“Mental health needs a great deal of attention. It's the final taboo and it needs to be faced and dealt with.”

                                               Adam Alt

Yesterday, Wayne LaPierre, spokesman for the National Rifle Association, who is paid almost one-million dollars per year to lobby for the gun industry, gave his solution to the problem of violence in America. It was “have an armed guard in every school.” More guns, not fewer. I recognize that there are millions of Americans who agree, and I respect their right to an opinion that differs from mine. That being said, I'd like to share some statistics that were sent to me by a friend who works for the National Association for Mental Illness (NAMI).

A mass murder is defined as a single incident in which at least four people are killed. Between 2006 and 2010, there were 156 such incidents in the United States, with more than 700 people killed; 150 of them children. In these gun related deaths, handguns were used 19 out of 20 times. Handguns are an enormous problem because they are light and easy to conceal.

With regard to the mental illness factor, NAMI cites these statistics: In America, 2.3% of all people commit a violent act in any given year, while only 1.1% of the population has schizophrenia. While the incidence of anxiety and depression, and other mood disorders is higher, almost 26% of the general population, a better predictor of gun violence is being fired from a job, being recently divorced, or having a history of physical abuse. Clearly, the vast majority of people experiencing mental illness, which is a medical problem requiring medical intervention, never commit violence.

That being said, mental health services have been drastically reduced in the United States. In Alabama alone, the mental health budget has been cut by 40% since 2009, and most community mental health centers and public institutions have been closed. When a parent or a teacher experiences difficulty managing a child who is acting out or making threats, they are usually told that until the child actually harms someone else or themselves, there is little that can be done. The judicial system is geared toward punishment for such children, and not toward rehabilitation. With proper funding, diagnosis and treatment, mental illness is as treatable as any other disease.

Having two armed policemen in the school did not save the children and adults who were gunned down at Columbine. “More guns, not fewer” is a sad statement considering the loss of life just one week ago. Surely we can do better.

                                           In the spirit,

                                              Jane