One Year Later
Mental Health in America’s School Shooting Crisis
Navia Palmer
Susan Flowers was hired this year by WHHS as the school’s first full time social worker. She assists students in need who may suffer from stress, anxiety, or mental illness.
As we approach the anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Fla., please pause for a moment of reflection.
Make a place in your heart for the students whose lives have been so mercilessly taken, grieving families and friends and communities across our nation that have been permanently scarred by this tragedy. Schools are meant to serve as bastions for education, preparing us for our futures. They are not to meant to serve as a final resting place.
Since the first recorded incident in 1833, gunshots have reverberated through the halls of more than 500 American schools. This is an escalating crisis, with nearly half of these shootings having taken place in just the last 18 years.
In response to each new incident of school violence, the repetitive national discourse is almost always reactionary. Rather than seeking to identify and address root causes of this homicidal behavior, the focus is directed at the tool— the gun. Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of legal, easily accessible weapons of terror. Knives,cars, homemade explosives. If an individual wishes to bring harm to many, they have a variety of tools at their disposal. Taking away one tool will not solve the problem.
To effectively end the school violence epidemic, we must address the root causes, rather than focusing on the tools. Why do students resort to violence: Bullying? Stress? Social Media? Drugs? Mental Illness?
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans suffer from a mental illness. Poorly identified and treated, there is minimal public funding to support those with mental disorders. Due to state and federal laws, it is often only until one commits a crime that we can finally act, even though we knew all along that something would inevitably happen. This was the case in Parkland, and is often the case in school violence.
This Valentine’s Day, remember and reflect upon the many victims of school violence. End the mental illness stigma. Only through open communication, acceptance of and investments in mental health, and the reduction of stress and bullying will we prevent future tragedies like Parkland.
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