Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) announced at a Senate hearing on gun violence Wednesday that he would introduce legislation to introduce mental health care in schools on Thursday to address the country’s ailing mental health care system.
“Tomorrow I will introduce the Mental Health In Schools Act which will improve access to mental health care for kids,” Franken said. “Catching these issues at an early age is really important.”
Franken also cautioned against stigmatizing mental illness. “I want to be careful here — that we don’t stigmatize mental illness,” he said. “The vast majority of people with mental illness are no more violent than the rest of the population. In fact, they are more likely to be the victims of violence.”
