We must improve programs to help the mentally ill
As the father of an eight-year-old son and the grandfather to six children under the age of 10, I am horrified by the incredible act of violence that killed 20 young students and the teachers who fought to protect them last week in Newtown, Conn.
In the wake of this tragedy, there’s no doubt that we need a serious and thoughtful national discussion about preventing this kind of senseless violence and protecting our children in their schools. I believe that should include a discussion about finding ways to spend federal dollars more wisely when it comes to treating and identifying people who are mentally ill. It should also include a conversation about ways that we can intervene before someone who is mentally ill does something that tragically impacts their lives and the lives of others.
Mental illness is just that: an illness. Millions of Americans suffer from diagnosable mental disorders in America. But too often, we neglect or miss the warning signs of an individual suffering from a mental disorder or mental health crisis, and we fail to help them in their time of need. As a nation, we must learn how best to care for the mentally ill in the hope that we may help to prevent tragedies.
Unfortunately, many communities do not have adequate mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services and facilities. In Missouri, the Mental Health First Aid program that is facilitated by the state’s Institute of Mental Health focuses on helping the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
State programs like this are a good step in the right direction, but we must also have a comprehensive conversation about the way Washington funds federal programs that treat mental illness, as well as a way to streamline information sharing when someone is identified as dangerously unstable.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is responsible for providing federal funding to support these services. This agency has not undergone a comprehensive reauthorization since 2000 - a problem that I believe Congress should address. Federal focus – and the dollars that follow – must facilitate proactive and cohesive collaboration across other agencies that work with the mentally ill and their caregivers.
In September 2012, I signed a letter with the rest of the Missouri delegation in support of Missouri’s Mental Health First Aid Awareness Week to encourage individuals to learn the basic skills needed to identify potential mental health concerns. Just as we encourage people to receive training in first aid for medical emergencies, we should ensure members of our community also learn mental health first aid. And our doctors and clinical practices should be equipped with the tools and resources needed to care for children and adults who need mental health treatment.
Like all Americans, I worry about our kids’ safety, and I’m remembering the families who lost their loved ones in Newtown. There are no easy answers in the aftermath of this kind of horrendous loss. Together, we must work to prevent these acts of violence in a thoughtful and comprehensive way.
Roy Blunt is a Republican U.S. Senator from Missouri.
Phil Cardarella
5 months agoWell said. Now, Senator, how about a bit of funding?
Yes, mental health is important. But no attention to mental health is going to prevent the occasional violent act. So, Senator, how do we decrease the tragedy level associated with such acts?
Your response — as a Congressman — was to allow the ban on military level weaponry to expire. Now, you take the position that the right of a gun owner to possess guns and magazines that have no lawful purpose other than making BANG! 80 times a minute is more important than preventing such a weapon from firing 80 rounds a minute into the small bodies of first-graders.
A madman with a knife may kill one or two. A madman with a standard firearm and clip may kill three or four. A madman with an AK and 30-100 round magazines? Mass murder.
Thanks to your actions in Congress, Senator, Adam Lanza’s mother was able to obtain the gun he used to murder 20 children and six of their teachers in a matter oof minutes.
Look at the faces of those children, Senator. Then look in a mirror at the face of an accessory to the madman who murdered them.
Janet Fales
5 months agoThe theater bomber killed 169 people he use a bomb. Mental Illness is a fact and people need to stop avoiding the issue. I personally think Senator Blunt for taking this issue at hand. Mr. Cararella, do you not think if a mentally ill person wanted a gun he\she could get it on the black market and should a mentally ill person so choice to do such a did as killing masses of other, if he\she couldn’t get a gun, they would use something else. Wonder how many would of died with a bomb? the News coverage on and on doesn’t help either.
Radioman Kanzasitty
kansas scity
4 months, 3 weeks agoI support Phil Cardarella’s comments, Senator. We need funding for mental health detection and service. And help with the cost of medications and supervision. But a lot more. Like DHS, security requires a multi-faceted approach to stop mass murder.
It would seem most mass murderers are first time offenders. We can’t put everyone who is weird and keeps to themselves in high school in a database and mark them for life as crazy when they haven’t broken the law.
Guards and bulletproof entry glass and remote buzzers and changing policy to lock schoolroom doors are all good ideas.
The NRA clearly is a lobbying organization for the gun industry and they are not about to buy into a ban of semi automatic, high capacity rifles and pistols or lookalikes that are favored by police and the military.
But it has to be done. Perhaps you should be willing, even as a Missourian, to go along at voting time. Of course it won’t be popular in red-neck country but its the right thing to do. Look at Washington DC’s laws on these weapons.
Daniel Mandell
4 months agoSenator Blunt, this sudden concern about mental health programs reminds me of the classic shell game: it’s all about distracting the rest of us. You say you are “a strong defender of our Second Amendment rights,” and that it is “an individual right … broadly interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court.” Since the Heller decision in 2008, yes (by a narrow 5 to 4 majority) BUT before that decision, the 2nd Amendment was often interpreted as entirely about state militia (the Guard), and even Justice Scalia in his strained majority opinion acknowledged the right to regulate firearms possession. So: let’s get sane. Treat firearms like automobiles. You can get one, but you’ll need a license, testing, and insurance, all of which will need to be renewed regularly.
Darla M. Gooch
4 months agoCouldn’t agree more about the need for changes and more support for those with mental health issues. That may require a health care change as well. Since ObamaCare, I cannot get the medications that I need to keep my mental health in check—very frustrating to know that I could be doing better but can’t because I am restricted. The government leaders needs a portion of perspective.