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Less than 24 hours after the shooter killed eight people at an Allen outlet mall, Gov. Greg Abbott took to the Fox News airwaves and quickly dismissed questions about gun reform.
“We’re seeing an increase in mass shootings not just in states with lax gun laws, but also in states with very strict gun laws,” Abbott said. told Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream On air.
From there, Abbott kept the conversation away from the gun. He did so after the shootings in Santa Fe, El Paso and Uvalde. Seven Since the governor took office in 2015, a spate of mass shootings in Texas has replaced him by promoting more mental health services in the state.
“And what Texas is doing in a big way is working to address that anger and violence by addressing the root cause of addressing the mental health issues behind it,” Abbott said. said in a national interview Sunday. “People want quick solutions. The long-term solution here is to address mental health issues.
To this day, Texas has invested. $25 billion During Abbott’s oversight as part of Statewide Behavioral Health Plan of the state A struggling mental health system Demand continues to grow along with the state’s burgeoning population. It’s a huge amount, sure, but it’s done little to lift Texas nationally when it comes to mental health provision.
2022, states ranked died at the end When it comes to accessing mental health services, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Mental Health America.
Today, 98% of Texas’ 254 counties are designated by the federal government as “mental health professional shortage areas,” in whole or in part.
It’s also unclear how all this funding is supposed to reach potentially violent shooters. A psychiatric component was implicated in seven mass shootings in Texas during Abbott’s term.
“Mental health is definitely an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to preventing mass shootings, but it is also imperative that we address opportunities for individuals to acquire firearms,” said Rep. Ray Lopez. I’m here.
This year, the San Antonio Democratic Party proposed House Bill 2148 You should have studied veterans’ deaths from suicide to find the percentage of veterans who had been diagnosed with a mental health problem or were on medication at the time of death. The bill did not enter the House of Commons.
“The reality is that firearms can end up in the hands of anyone, including someone who is mentally unstable, experiencing pain, or lacking maturity,” Lopez said. said. “This presents a significant challenge that must be addressed to ensure public safety.”
guns and mental illness
Republicans here, who have controlled the Texas legislature since 2003, have shunned gun control despite polls showing 76% of Texas voters support gun control.
In fact, since 2000, lawmakers in Texas have approved more than 100 bills to ease gun control. It seems to have failed later on… Abandoning the Texas House agenda ahead of an important deadline.
Mental illness has been thought to be a factor in everything 7 mass shootings In Texas since 2015.
Shortly after Micah Johnson killed five Dallas police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest, a 25-year-old gunman, a former Army soldier, post-traumatic stress disorder However, he had not been formally diagnosed with the condition.
In 2012, five years before Devin Kelly shot and killed 26 church members in Sutherland Springs, he escaped from a mental health facility While in the Air Force, he attacked his wife and son-in-law after threatening his boss.
Patrick Crusius is “psychotic” state After being arrested for murdering 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019. His lawyers say their client has a history of mental illness.
Seth Atoll, who shot dead seven people in Midland and Odessa in 2019, “Mental Defect” Sentence I bought an AR-15 used in 2019 from someone else. incarcerated in federal prison for trading.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis, accused of killing 10 people in the 2018 Santa Fe high school shooting, has not yet been charged. Imprisoned in a State Psychiatric Hospital He has so far been ruled incompetent to stand trial.
Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old shooter who killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School, was showing signs of depression and was abusive to animals until he had a psychiatric diagnosis and mental health treatment. No evidence of support. Nearly a year before his fatal attack, he was mentally health-starved at his service.
And this week, officials said Mauricio Garcia, who killed seven people in Allen, was removed from basic army training. “Mental health issues”.
Since Abbott became governor, more dollars have been set aside for more mental health services, especially after the mass shootings. It’s not the only solution to mass shootings, he said. And they point out that what the state of Texas is actually funding is actually more reactive than preventative.
“Since then, there has been some increase in various mental health programs. [the shooting in] Uvalde. It’s not at a level that impacts the structural barriers that many Texans face in trying to access health care,” said Alison Mollballware, policy director at the Hog Mental Health Foundation.
The state’s mental health system ranks low because access is limited in the state’s rural areas due to lack of providers. In addition, because of uneven quality, high cost, and too many people are currently uninsured. About 20% of Texans do not have health insurance.
Still, Abbott doesn’t elaborate on how his efforts to fund more mental health services could reach potential shooters and prevent future catastrophes. His office did not respond to questions about how mental health programs are supposed to do it.
Explore its funding
This year, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission report confirmed that Abbott is investing more in the state’s mental health system, and its budget is increasing each year.
Mental health funding increased by about $1.1 billion over the two-year period from 2018-19 to 2022-23, according to the report.
“Funding will cover outpatient and inpatient mental health services at the Board of Health and Human Services, behavioral health services provided through Medicaid and CHIP, and payments made to providers to facilitate and improve access to services. We support a variety of programs at multiple institutions and articles, including:
Governor spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said:he signed the law Texas Children’s Mental Health Consortium The Child Psychiatric Access Network is designed to intervene and treat children and adolescents who show signs of emotional distress.
.
“With current budget discussions looking to increase funding for mental health from $8.9 billion to more than $11 billion, expanding mental health services remains a priority for governors and Congress,” Mahalerith said. said.
Funding has increased and several prevention services have been created, the best example being the state Child Mental Health Consortium, but nothing seems to slow the rate of mass shootings in Texas.
Mental health professionals say their profession is not the only solution to mass shootings and state leaders need to broaden its focus.
“It’s important to note that the majority of people with mental health issues are not violent. Focusing on mental health can only increase that stigma,” Ballware said. Told.
Greg Hansch, executive director of the Texas chapter of the National Psychiatric Alliance, said the state needs to look beyond children and community services and invest where struggling adults intersect with government and hospitals. Said it had to be done.
“Texas has made a lot of efforts to fund mental health, but there is still a long way to go,” Hansch said. “The state will provide first-episode psychotic treatment, crisis services, [mental health] Labor Initiatives and Prison Repurposing. “
Also, a lot of money was spent to upgrade the state mental hospital system. This inpatient system treats the state’s most severely psychiatric patients, most of whom come from state prisons. Of the $25 billion set aside for mental health in the state budget over the past nine years, at least $4 billion went to renovating, building, and staffing state hospitals.
Hansch and Ballware of the Hogg Foundation point out that Texas needs a more concrete plan. This includes recruiting more health workers, intervening more directly, and providing universal access to make services easier to find for everyone in this vast state, not just children and families. includes how to Accused of crimes in metropolitan areas.
“Instead of focusing solely on funding those at the highest levels of crisis, more funding is needed for prevention, early intervention and support for all who need access. We are aware of that,” said Ballware. “Unfortunately, funds alone cannot guarantee equitable access to services statewide.”
Disclosure: The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is a financial backer of The Texas Tribune, a non-profit, bipartisan news organization funded in part by contributions from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial backers play no part in Tribune journalism. Find their complete list here.
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