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Originally Posted by ZTAngel
I came here to post the same article. Beautifully written. My heart goes out to the mother. And my heart goes out to Adam Lanza's father. It has been reported that people who knew the killer knew that something was very, very wrong with him. I wonder if his parents had tried to get him help and found the same thing as the woman who wrote that article - the options are limited for the severely mentally ill. Back in the 50's and 60's, there were state run institutions for mentally ill....as well as the developmentally disabled. They were wretched and it's actually a good thing that most (if not all) were done away with. But, they were not replaced by better alternatives. Our health care system is in disarray and mental illness treatment is expensive - even with health insurance. The social stigma of mental illness is incredible. I hope this tragedy brings forth a new way to treat those who are mentally ill so that the people who died at Sandy Hook didn't die in vain.
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The state run facilities needed to be reformed no doubt, but to me, the lack of appropriate mental health care goes back to the state of the health care industry. Insurance carriers limit what they are willing to pay; therefore providers aren't able to sustain operations. Perhaps spending a bit more as a society on health care could not only make us all healthier, but safer in the long run.