Advocating for peace is advocating for mental health
This week, the Florida State Senate passed SPB 7012 — Mental Health, a bill that, when implemented, will work towards adressing a mental health epidemic in our state. Specifically, the fact that sixty percent of all gun deaths in Florida span from suicide.
We must fully fund and allocate resources for mental health and suicide prevention services in Florida, which will greatly help reduce gun suicides. The Florida Senate took the first steps in doing just that.
In Florida, approximately 660,000 adults and 181,000 minors live with serious mental illness, according to the Orlando Sentinel. On top of that, only 36.3 percent of adults with mental illness in Florida receive any form of treatment from either the public system or private providers, a SAMHSA report found. The remaining 63.7 percent receive no mental health treatment.
SPB 7012 — Mental Health will target this issue from all sides. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to develop a plan to locate evidence-based suicide deterrents. It requires that certain information be provided to the parent(s) or guardian of a minor released from involuntary examination. The bill also outlines that specified persons need to complete certain suicide prevention education courses by a specified date and in that, given that a persons emergency care is also not liable for civil damages or penalties under certain circumstances, etc.
We are proud that the Florida Senate passed this comprehensive legislation with no objections. This is the first of many bills relating to mental health outlined in our Peace Plan For A Safer Florida. We encourage the Florida legislature to look at the Peace Plan For A Safer America as a guiding document for what further reforms need to be considered and introduced at the state level to begin tackling the gun violence epidemic.
