Counseling services loss for kids decried
On Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, I read with stunned amazement the following headline in the Chattanooga Times Free Press: “Counseling cut comes as suicide rate increases.” It goes on to say that our “Hamilton County school board members voted 6-5 to end a longstanding agreement allowing parents to consent to free, in-school mental health counseling for their children this month … .”
This in the face of an increase in suicides among children in Hamilton County, which now has the highest suicide rate in the state. It boggles the mind of sane and reasonable persons after the wringing of hands over the recent school shooting (Minneapolis) — the murder of two innocent children at prayer by a mentally ill former student at a Catholic school.
Sirs and Misses, what is it going to take, the murder or suicide of one of your children or grandchildren to take seriously the need for counseling and mental health services? Your mean-spirited action is nothing short of a dereliction of duty to promote and protect safety in education and those studying and teaching in Hamilton County schools. Shame on you.
James O’Connell, M.D.