From Sierra Sun Times, Photo: Victoria Regen/Pixabay, Sierra Sun Times, October 2, 2023
To build a future worthy of our children’s highest aspirations, we must ensure they have the resources and support they need to thrive. This Child Health Day, we recommit to helping our children live healthy lives so they can reach their highest potential.
Our most fundamental obligation to our children is to keep them safe. The devastating truth is that firearms are the leading cause of death for children in America. That is unacceptable. Kids and parents should not live in fear of everyday places turning into warzones. That is why I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years to keep guns out of dangerous hands. I have also taken more meaningful executive action than any President in history to keep communities safe. And I recently established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to build upon these measures.
My Administration has invested billions of dollars to improve mental health services for young people, including hiring and training more school mental health counselors so young people can get the care they need. I have heard from parents, teachers, nurses, and kids across the country about the mental health crisis among youth in their communities. Tackling the mental health crisis and the many ways it affects our communities is a part of my Unity Agenda — one of the big things we can come together as a society to solve. Our American Rescue Plan made our Nation’s biggest-ever investment in mental health and substance use programs — recruiting, training, and supporting more providers at the State and local levels, including in our schools. Our gun safety law also expands the number of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics that deliver 24/7 care.
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