What the U.S. is missing on mass shootings and mental illness -- Vance Meyer guest column
Guest Column, Florida Times-Union, 11/26/23 NAMI Jacksonville exec: What the U.S. is missing on mass shootings and mental illness On Oct. 26, Americans woke up to the details of yet another mass shooting , and media experts were predictably ready to remind us of the link between mental illness and murder . For those who pay attention to such things, what generally follows is a steady drumbeat of the same commentary for about three weeks. Then it subsides ― until the next tragic slaying. Sadly, few experts go on to explain that more than one in five adults in this country lives with mental illness ( roughly 50 million people ). In addition, 1 in 25 adults have been diagnosed with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, severe depression or bipolar disorder. There is also an alarming and growing number of young people who also experience very difficult symptoms. Worst of all, most fail to emphasize the reality that very, very few people with mental illness kill...