“In the wake of… high-profile killings,” such as the Denver theater and Sandy Hook Elementary massacres, theColumbus (OH) Dispatch (5/26, Johnson, Candisky) reported, “America’s political leaders promised a grieving nation an examination of both guns and mental health.” However, “the discussion again has focused on a firefight over guns, with little real emphasis on the shortcomings of the nation’s underfunded, overwhelmed mental-health system.” The Dispatch notes, “President Barack Obama’s proposed $150 million-plus ‘mental-health first aid’ and similar programs for schools have stalled, while federal funding for the National Institute of Mental Health is being cut by $12 million on top of a 5 percent reduction already targeted from cutbacks known as the sequester.”
In a second article, the Columbus (OH) Dispatch (5/27, Johnson, Candisky) highlighted how access to mental healthcare is “woeful” in Ohio, adding, “With an estimated 57.7 million people in the U.S. suffering from some type of mental illness – approximately 1 in 4 adults – there are no easy answers on how to deal with this complex disease.” However, “one theme is cited again and again, both by experts and families involved in the struggle: Americans simply lack access to adequate mental-health care.”
Related Links:
— “Mental-health system overwhelmed, underfunded, “Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch, May 26, 2013.