How to seek help
If you or someone you know is undergoing a mental health crisis, there are organizations ready to help.National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)Mental Health Cooperative: 615-726-0125 or toll free at 855-274-7471Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services: 855-CRISIS-1 or 855-274-7471
Too many Tennesseans with mental illnesses are arrested and jailed instead of being referred for treatment, a recent Nashville grand jury determined.
There must be more societal awareness of what to do when someone is having a mental health crisis, jurors also decided.
The vast majority of people who have a mental illness do not pose an immediate risk to the community, regardless of whether they own a firearm. People diagnosed with a mental illness committed less than 5 percent of gun-related killings in the U.S. between 2001 and 2010, according to a 2015 study recently cited in The New York Times.
Read more at our news partner's website, tennessean.com.