Editorial: Mental health should be a concern for us all

Is mental health a concern in Hastings? Yes.

Is our problem here any worse than any other city in Dakota County? Or the state? Or the nation? Probably not.

That said, the news this week that the Hastings Police Department is fielding some 100 calls a month related to mental health crises and suicides or suicide attempts is staggering.

We are all too familiar with some recent cases in Hastings where people have taken their own lives. One young man, just 20 years old, hung himself from a tree on the morning of the Fourth of July.

There are many more examples, one of which we highlighted in a front-page story.

We are hoping that by publishing the facts and figures from the police department, and that by telling you more about the impact that suicide has had on one Hastings native, you’ll have a better understanding of the scope of the problem in Hastings and its devastating effects.

Armed with that information, we hope you’ll do something to help.

It’s important we all realize that mental illness is something people can’t just “snap out of.” It’s a disease and needs therapy, medication and treatment just like any other disease. We all need to have that understanding if the problem is ever going to improve.

Tags: opinion, editorials, hastings, minnesota, spiral