The American Mental Health Crisis Volume 1: The Overview

There is an obvious mental health crisis in the United States of America and it's not going anywhere fast. The dramatic and quite frankly overwhelming increase in critical mental health situations has exploded over the past two decades. Governmental agencies designed and led by elected officials have made various attempts to gain a foothold in thwarting these events with some level of success but much is left to do. We have to ask ourselves several questions that deserve serious attention and truthful analysis.

Not that long ago was the 1990's and what a decade it was. Entertainment was changed forever when hair bands were traded in for flannels, bustin' a move was now about chronic sales and pulp fiction was something I thought was fake orange juice. The 90's opened with a President telling us about new taxes and closed with one being deposed about "that woman". Changes were everywhere and possibilities were endless. Questions arose about how wide was the world web? and did Waldo and Carmen San Diego ever meet up? A fun and energetic time it was indeed. Then came April 1999.

Columbine High School was a place I never heard of. Neither was the term School Shooter. That day in April I, along with millions of others, watched children become victims of one of the most infamous incidents in recorded history. I say this not to give credence to those who committed this heinous act but to be honest about a horrific situation that America has yet to fully comprehend and thus has no concrete solution for. There have been other violent incidents in America's past but this one single event changed our country, and specifically schools, forever.

The years that followed have floated solutions revolving around social workers, access to firearms, law enforcement response methods and of course political posturing. Did any of these discussion topics deter an active shooter? Possibly. If not then we need to ask ourselves why not? What can Americans do to reduce and even eliminate the Active Shooter mentality? Every problem has a solution.

More recently there has been a significant shift in law enforcement responses to Active Shooter events. Years ago police would simply create a perimeter, notify SWAT and set up a Command Center with upper management negotiating prisoner releases and hoping for a quiet conclusion. That was the method used at Columbine with incalculable devastating results. The current tactic has morphed into officers imminently entering the scenario and neutralizing the threat(s) without hesitation. The ever evolving strategy has reduced response times cultivating in a dramatic decrease in physical casualties. There has been a political flip flop concerning SRO's (School Resource Officers) due to the civil unrest of 2020 which has allowed for several preventable instances to take place. The use of metal detectors, clear backpacks and pat downs for students has also increased putting our American children in a frame of mind which normalizes fear.

There used to be mental health institutions that housed individuals who were in need of care. No longer is it lawfully or socially acceptable to place individuals into these facilities against their will unless, of course, they are "a danger to themselves or others". How does the average person make that type of determination? Who is the ultimate authority on an individual's mental health status? Who is responsible for a person in crisis if they are not placed into a wellness facility?

Schools should be a safe haven for faculty, staff and of course our children. No rationale person wants a child to fear anything let alone attending educational institutions. There is ongoing debate about what a safe school looks like. Armed teachers, metal detectors SROs have not prevented all violent acts inside educational facilities. How can they? We are failing these children by not providing them a positive environment to learn, grow and play.

There is no longer time to point the finger at others. The time is now to stand up and make a constructive effort in your life to make the necessary choices to protect America's children from those who seek to destroy them. What can you do? Better stated: What are you prepared to do?

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