Shortly after Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness assumed office this year, he appointed a blue-ribbon panel to study how the city can approach issues of mental illness.  The group has been very quiet publicly, choosing to wait until its recommendations are complete before unveiling its findings.

The committee is made up of the mayor, members of the city council, representatives of the Hamilton Southeastern School System and many others.

While I was coming of age in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a societal stigma attached to anyone identified with a mental illness.  I am happy to say that stigma is slowly going away.

I am no mental health expert, but in reading and talking to people who know something about this, we all need to approach mental health the same way we approach any health issue.  For example, we don’t stigmatize people with cancer or heart disease.  We shouldn’t look down on people suffering from mental illness just because they have a medical condition in need of treatment.

The Indiana Youth Institute released some sobering numbers earlier this year.  Here’s what the Indianapolis Star reported on February 17th of this year about that report:

“Indiana has the highest rate in the country of teens who have considered suicide and the second-highest rate of those who attempted it…”

The data, from 2011, says 19% of teen students in our state contemplated suicide and 11% actually attempted to take their own life.  Suicide is just one aspect of mental health, but it is a critical one.

I honestly do not know what the city can do about this problem, but it is encouraging that the mayor’s office is making this issue one of the first priorities in the early months of the Fadness Administration.

Keep an eye out for the recommendations of this group.  It could be important to the entire community.