Bill Aims to Reduce Suicides
by: Lea Bartos
Nowadays, teenagers deal with a lot of stress, whether it be because of school, friends, or family. This stress can turn into something a lot more complicated, like mental illnesses. However, some people might not know they have a mental illness unless they are psychologically screened. Saipranav Ganumpally, of the Metea Valley Delegation, explained that the purpose in proposing his bill would be to implement optional high school psychological screenings. Under no circumstances is the program forcing students into the evaluation; students would have the option to get a psychological screening from a professional.
According to Ganumpally, over half of people with mental illnesses are between the ages of 14 and 18 and do not get the diagnosis that they need. Most teens don’t think about getting a diagnosis because they are too busy and don’t think it’s worth spending their time on. With this bill, he is trying to stop the rising rates of depression and suicide in Illinois. The obstacles Ganumpally sees are ways to enforce the bill and ways to fund the bill. In the bill, it states that because local funding can lead to unequal opportunity for people with different socioeconomic statuses in Illinois, the program would be funded through state funding.
