Letters: Schools must show that mental health is critical for students

"When the budget is being done every year, mental health is the first on the chopping block: the counselors, who are our first defense against suicide by young boys. Of course, we cannot afford to do this, but who cares? Mental health is the flogging horse. No one is willing to bell the cat. People die by suicide and in shootings. Nearly 47,000 people die a year, and no one cares. Guns are available freely to the mentally ill to accomplish this."

"It's a shame that so many young people have mental health issues. It's difficult to excel in school if their attention is focused on the problems in their home, in school, in their community or in their heads. If men and boys make up nearly 80% of the suicides in the United States, then something is broken in our country. Violence, substance abuse, unemployment and homelessness are the results of untreated mental health issues in our male population."

Mental health services in schools face recurring budget cuts, removing counselors who serve as primary defenses against youth suicide. Large numbers of people die annually by suicide and shootings, with firearms readily available to vulnerable individuals. Historical psychiatric centers declined since the 1980s, increasing risks for the mentally ill. Many young people struggle academically when attention is consumed by problems at home, school, community, or within themselves. Men and boys account for a disproportionate share of suicides, and untreated male mental illness contributes to violence, substance abuse, unemployment, and homelessness. Positive male role models and accessible school counselors are needed to identify and help at-risk boys.

Read at www.mercurynews.com