The unthinkable event that left twenty school kids and six teachers dead in Newtown, Connecticut last year, stunned a nation. But Newtown didn’t stand alone; there have been many incidents in the last few years that left us in disbelief, like the ones at Virginia Tech, Washington’s naval shipyard, an Aurora, Colorado movie theater, and a Wisconsin Sikh Temple. The two things they had in common: a gun was used, and in many cases the perpetrator had a mental illness. This year, as debates crossed the country about gun control; the question ‘are we doing enough for the mentally ill?’ arose. After years of budget cuts, many now are saying that we need to re-fund programs and to put mental health front and center if we are to ever going to being to feel safe again.
GUESTS:
- Mark Ciocca – psychologist atCapital Valley Counseling Associates. His work includes helping patients work to resolve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and health-related issues such as chronic pain and illness.
- Robert Murray – psychiatrist, and medical director of Riverbend Community Health in Concord
- Ken Norton – executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness – New Hampshire
CALLOUT:
- Ellen Cohn - social psychologist and research director of the Legal Socialization Laboratory at UNH. She also coordinates the Justice Studies Program there.
