NEWTOWN, Conn. – Yesterday, federal officials with the Make America Healthy Again Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, which contained a range of recommendations to address childhood chronic diseases. Among those recommendations was a call for expanded pediatric mental health services and research into the effects of screen time on mental health.
Notably absent from the strategy was any mention of the number one killer of children in America today – firearms. Also absent was any recommendation into further research about the ways that social media algorithms are influencing children, in some cases exposing them to dangerous and hypersexualized firearm marketing.
For several years, the CDC has reported that the United States is in the “midst of a youth mental health crisis” that is closely linked to risky behaviors such as suicidal ideation and other acts of violence. The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report showed that as many as 4 out of 10 young people report persistent feelings of hopelessness, and up to 20% of high schoolers say they have seriously considered suicide. Rates of social isolation were also found to be elevated. All of those factors combined dramatically to increase the likelihood of a tragedy such as a youth suicide, school shooting, or other acts of harm.
In response to the new strategy, Lauren Levin, chief advocacy officer of Sandy Hook Promise, issued the following statement:
“While we are grateful to see the new Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy provides recommendations for the expansion of pediatric mental health services – one of the central pillars of Sandy Hook Promise’s policy initiatives – it’s very concerning that it’s missing any recommendations about other critical challenges affecting our children. Every day, kids are exposed to harmful content online that is having an adverse effect on their health and mental well-being.
“To put it bluntly, this is something that we know is hurting children. But it’s not something that we have to accept. We call upon this administration to hold social media companies accountable for regulating the violent content that youth are exposed to.
“Lastly, this strategy ignores the epidemic that is killing the most children in our nation. Youth in the U.S. are more likely to die by a gun than anything else in their lives – even a car crash, an accident, or a disease. One of the main executive actions outlined in the strategy was a goal to increase public awareness of chronic childhood diseases. But we can’t achieve that without acknowledging gun violence and taking decisive action to address it. There has been bipartisan support for secure storage legislation that is proven to save lives. One example is the Keep Every Home Safe Act (House Bill 175) in Ohio. That is a critical step that can and will protect children from misusing firearms.”
For more information about proven polices that save lives and prevent the misuse of firearms, as well as information about how to advocate for expanded access to youth mental health services, please visit sandyhookpromise.org.
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The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund (SHPAF) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization committed to protecting all children from gun violence in schools, homes, and communities. The SHP Action Fund advances a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization. It is part of Sandy Hook Promise, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
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