Placing a greater emphasis on teen mental health could help to prevent school shootings. Rather than get bogged down in challenging laws that protect gun ownership, we should focus on the issues that lead young people to become shooters.

As a teenager in America, I believe it’s important to make sure the mental health of my peers is cared for. A few weeks ago, there was a school shooting in Georgia involving a 14-year-old boy. Some believe his troubled home life and environment drove him to carry out the shooting.

How many young teens are suffering mentally without anyone giving them the help they need, unable to seek help before they snap? Simply reaching out and engaging with these children could make a difference. If we pay more attention, maybe no one else will enter their school, a place of learning and community, and leave without a pulse.

Lindsey Isaias Park

Manoa

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