Shining the Light on Mental Health – 50 Years of Chasing Shadows | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Shining the Light on Mental Health – 50 Years of Chasing Shadows | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Shining the Light on Mental Health – 50 Years of Chasing Shadows

By National School Public Relations Association on November 18, 2013

By Karen Kleinz, APR, Associate Director, National School Public Relations Association(NSPRA)
As the nation marks one of our most solemn, watershed moments this week with the 50^th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, I find myself taken aback by the reality that five decades have passed (how many times have those of us who were alive then uttered the phrase, “I remember exactly where I was when…”?) and at the same time bemused and saddened by how much remains the same.
Senseless violence continues in our communities, in spite of our horror and belief that we can be better. And what is most disturbing are the incidents involving youth perpetrators. From Columbine to Newtown, Conn., to Aurora, Colo., to Danvers, Mass., to the unchronicled incidents that occur daily on city streets – the list of tragic events continues to grow, and we continue to struggle with how to address the root causes.
Fifty years ago, President Kennedy delivered a Special Message to Congress on Mental Illness and Mental Retardation (note that the term had different connotation at the time), discussing his plans for national mental health program legislation, which proposed comprehensive community mental health centers, improved care in state mental institutions, and increased research. Earlier this month, the Obama administration issued a final ruling requiring insurers to treat mental health and substance abuse problems the same way physical illnesses are