The recent shootings in Connecticut have brought about an outcry for gun control reform, which is but one piece of a very complicated puzzle. As a society we should also be beating down the doors of the White House, congress and our local officials to do more to fund adequate mental health care in this country. We need an outcry to bring about a more meaningful dialogue on how society addresses all aspects of these acts of violence.

You don't have to be a Mental Health professional to care about the state of the emotional and psychological well-being of our citizens. If you are one of those who believe it is time to prioritize mental health and you agree with the statement above, please read on and sign this petition! In the not-too-distant past, affordable behavioral/mental health services were available in most towns and cities in this great country. Services included psychotherapy, family counseling, psychiatry (including medication management) and various other important community programs for people struggling with emotional problems, trauma, and/or mental illness. In the last ten-fifteen years, these programs have been systematically stripped from the federal and state budgets. Not only did this send countless mental health workers all across the country to the unemployment lines, it more importantly left hundreds of thousands of mentally ill people to fall through the cracks of our society. With the latest horrific school shooting occurring in Newtown, Connecticut, we are clearly sowing the seeds of this outrageous decision to marginalize the most mentally unstable citizens of our country. We can no longer hopelessly sit by while more innocent people's lives and families are destroyed by our government's unwillingness to shoulder the responsibility of the mental health crisis we are clearly experiencing. We must demand REAL REFORM -- and insist on the re-funding of public mental health programs and services. And we must demand it NOW. We can turn this crisis into an opportunity to take real action, TODAY. Thank you.

No doctor can practice in the U.S. without a residency. The number of residency positions has been capped since 1992. Unless more are added it is irrelevant how many med school graduates we have, there is a bottleneck. If you agree we will need a lot more doctors to care for our aging population and all the people who will be eligible for care under the ACA, tell your people in Congress to support the bills being proposed in both Houses to increase funding for training spots.

To help family's with mentally challenged teens and young adults. Also to stop Hollywood from putting out the stupid violent movies and the companies that put out the horrific games that our young adults and teens play.

In thoughtful and compassionate response to the tragedy of the shootings in New Town, CT, and the many other shootings that have happened in recent years, we need to address the lack of effective and long-term services for those among us who are experiencing mental illness.

In light of recent tragedies, It's obvious that Anti-Abortion is not synonymous with Pro-Life.The same hypocrites who label themselves with such titles favor possession of assault rifles in inner cities and drastically reduce health care specifically Mental Health Care.So it's time for the media to start labeling them as such until they live up to their titles.  I have a colleague who's sister was killed by a mental health candidate and an alum killed by a person who sought mental health treatment only to be denied. How many more tragedies must occur?     It's time to petition,march ,riot for mental health care as a basic right for American citizens and a civil right. Stop being observers and participate in making our lives as humans productive to our communities, our nation, and our world.It must start with you. This is the time ....Peace Be With You.

As a mental health professional, I see all too often individuals and families struggle to live balanced lives because our health care system is lacking in this area. They don't have insurance, funding runs out, or services are not covered on the plans they can afford. I keep hearing people say gun control is the answer, but I believe it's not the only piece of the puzzle we need to consider with regards to the violence we have seen in the past several years.

The horror in Newtown, CT highlights the need for continued investment in school-based mental health services and supports. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy plans to cut funding for our state's network of school-based health centers (SBHC's). Our children need access to mental health prevention and treatment services more than ever; in fact, there are about 90,000 K-12 students in Connecticut who cannot access desperately needed mental health services.

The recent shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary has brought with it many different discussions including gun control and the state of mental health in our country. This petition is a request for action towards rethinking how mental health is dealt with. It needs to be more accessible by means of availability and more inexpensive options for care. There has always been a stigma towards individuals who suffer from a mental illness. We must address this negative thinking and begin better education as a means for creating awareness and a path away from the views that mental illness represents a personal weakness. I propose we begin in our public libraries as they house the tools to access information. As a library staff member, I am a tool keeper. That being said, I am going to put together a program in order to educate and inform my community on various issues linked to mental health. I encourage other programming librarians to do the same as well as community members going to their local public libraries and requesting that such a program be offered.

RECOGNITION OF CIVILIAN WOMEN WHO HAVE SERVED IN AMERICA'S CONFLICTS. To acknowledge the role of civilian woman (USO/Red Cross/USAID/special services/civilian doctors/nurses/religious/flight attendants, etc# who have served America and the military. In fact, here were over 20,000 civilian women in Vietnam alone. Only 7,500 military women served in Vietnam, by the way. Civilian women have served side by side with the military women, but get no acknowledgement for health issues like PTSD, Dioxin poisioning, depression, cancer, etc. It is appalling that these dedicated women are outcasts after having served their country with patriotism, courage and dedication. I personally served as a civilian with USO clubs in Vietnam, Thailand and USArmy Special services in Korea and Fort Ord, California. I know what being an outcast really means. I am carrying PTSD around with me, but cannot get even a glance at a VA hospital. I was told by a chaplain at the VA hospital in Palo Alto, CA that our civilian service 'doesn't count'. I find that outrageous. When we were needed to run hospitals, set up USO clubs or special service clubs, or work as nurses #civilian#, we were there to support the cause. Now that we need to be acknowledged, the door is shut in our faces. Can you help me out with this? I #we# would be grateful. Maureen Nerli, USO Clubs Vietnam, Thailand USArmy Special Services, South Korea, Fort Ord, CA Founder of the first highway sign in America to acknowledge the role or civilian women in our conficts: .CIVILIAN WOMEN VOLUNTEERS ALL WARS HIGHWAY MEMORIAL, San Mateo, California, Highway 101

Over the past 20 years our states have been closing mental health facilities at an alarming rate. We are now seeing the results of these catastrophic decisions. We must keep people like James Holmes, Jared Loughner and Adam Lanza off the streets. Yes we need tight gun control, but make no mistake if these 3 individuals would have been in institutions or had proper evaluations, we wouldn't have dead children all over the country. Please help tell our representatives that we need the money they took from mental health system put back with much more to go with it.

The media is not asking the proper questions! I want to DEMAND that an INDEPENDANT study be made of all of the shooters that have caused so much carnage in our world in the past ten years to ascertain what psych drugs these people were "on" when they were able to perform such horrendous acts towards such innocent victims.