It’s Time To Address Our Mental Health Crisis

When I was governor of Virginia, we faced one of the deadliest shootings in our country’s history. Thirty-two students and faculty members were killed at Virginia Tech on April 16th, 2007 — by a young man whose mental illness was never properly treated.

He had a history of mental health problems — and was even deemed a danger to others — but those warnings were never taken seriously. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent wondering if things would’ve been different had our mental health services been better.

In the aftermath of this tragedy, we worked tirelessly to overhaul our state and campus mental health programs, while strengthening background checks for gun purchases. But as proud as I am of the progress we made, I know that we have much more left to do — and so does Hillary. That’s why we’ve laid out the common sense reforms we would take to our gun laws and why we just rolled out a comprehensive mental health plan, with a special emphasis on college students and young adults.

As a father of three kids in their twenties, I am well aware of the pressure surrounding the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Most mental health challenges present themselves during adolescence. But we still don’t have sufficient community-based resources for the one-in-four college aged students facing these issues.

When it comes to mental health, help should always be immediate — and focused on treatment, not judgment. There should be absolutely no stigma associated with mental health. I believe it’s up to us to educate the public and better support individuals and families with these issues.

But I also know that there’s no quick fix. Eradicating the stigma of mental health and making sure everyone has access to treatment means investing in early diagnosis, so that all children get the best possible start in life. It means bolstering training programs for school and law enforcement officials, so we’re better equipped to de-escalate dangerous situations surrounding mental health. And it means expanding local housing, healthcare, and job opportunities, so those who face mental health challenges have the stability they need to get through difficult times.

We also need a national suicide prevention initiative, aimed at helping young people, as well as veterans and the elderly. And we need all schools to offer mental health services to their students, so that no young person ever has to think twice before going to get help. After all, we want every student to know that there’s hope, especially students of color and LGBTQ students, whose mental health needs are often disproportionately unmet.

In the past, mental health has had a low profile in politics, with policy reports left to sit on shelves untouched. But not with Hillary, who has worked on these issues for decades. Hillary began this campaign with a listening tour, and after hearing over and over again about mental health issues, she decided to focus on bringing this problem center stage. I am proud to be standing with her.

Because as Hillary says, we need to make sure that “the next generation gets quality mental health care — without shame, without stigma, without barriers.”

Here’s our comprehensive plan to address the mental health crisis in America: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/mental-health/