Susan W. Spalt: Mental health ills unacceptable

There are many ways to measure a society – scientific achievements, great buildings, literary works – but one way that is perhaps most important is what we are willing to tolerate.

Donna Kay Smith’s Sept. 24 Point of View “Getting the picture” was an indictment of who we are. How can we as a society, a community, a state accept this treatment of children with a mental illness? How can we accept this treatment for adults? It is hard enough to navigate the system with a physical illness; mental illness is a lonely and devastating challenge.

Why do we allow wealthy insurance companies to determine the kind of care we can secure for ourselves and for our families? We must hold ourselves and our elected officials accountable.

We must vote for candidates who support health care, including mental health care, for everyone. We must vote for candidates who are willing to take on the insurance companies. We must vote as if that 10-year-old girl, waiting for treatment, is with us in the voting booth.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Susan W. Spalt: Mental health ills unacceptable."