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Dear John,
Recently, our nation was wracked by a series of massacres, first in California,
then Texas and finally Ohio. The resulting conversation has touched on a host of
potential solutions, including expanding treatment options for people with mental
illness.
To our knowledge, none of the perpetrators of these recent attacks have been diagnosed
with psychotic disorders. Current reporting points to these being incidents of domestic
terrorism and not the result of untreated serious mental illness.
However, because the debate has turned to mental illness, the Treatment Advocacy
Center reiterates and emphasizes the need for systematic reforms to the U.S. mental
healthcare system, as we know far too many continue to suffer without care.
It is impossible to discuss the need for mental health reform without acknowledging
the shameful context in which the conversation is occurring. Our country continues
to ignore mental illness unless and until a moment of tragedy strikes. That sort
of reaction, by its very definition, leads to uninformed and often shortsighted
solutions.
The Treatment Advocacy Center prides itself on never shying away from the fact that
in some instances untreated mental illness leads to violence [[link removed]],
including incidents of mass violence [[link removed]].
It is a reality all too many families are familiar with and it does society no good
to ignore or downplay these very real consequences. However, the conversation can
and must expand.
The Treatment Advocacy Center and the families that support us have been making
the same case for reform for two decades, providing solutions that work to address
both violence and the host of other devastating consequences of non-treatment that
are too rarely part of the national conversation: suicide, homelessness, criminalization,
victimization.
Those solutions cannot take root if the need only sees light in the midst of tragedy.
President Trump, Senator Sanders, law enforcement and other leaders have all raised
the need for mental health reforms. But real solutions require dedicated attention.
We cannot address the loss of psychiatric treatment beds, the over-reliance on law
enforcement to handle psychiatric emergencies, or chronic homelessness if the issues
only surface as a response to devastating headlines.
In this context, I wanted to share a link to a guest editorial that our founder,
Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, published today in the Wall Street Journal [[link removed]].
The paper has a paywall, but we have placed the text of the piece on our website,
here [[link removed]].
We know that, in today's polarized media environment, the complexities and nuances
of Dr. Torrey's argument may be lost, but we also know how important it is to utilize
every opportunity to highlight the consequences of the dysfunctional mental health
treatment system in America.
I hope you will join us in educating local and national media outlets about how
untreated severe mental illness has affected your family, so that the public discussion
continues, even when the current fervor subsides.
Sincerely,

John Snook
Executive Director
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Treatment Advocacy Center | 200 N Glebe Rd | Ste 801 | Arlington | VA | 22203