Letters to the editor for Sunday, June 4
Learning environments must support children's mental health
To the editor:
While Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed each May since 1949, news stories clearly indicate that critical work remains, especially when it comes to young people.
In recent interviews, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called loneliness a new public health epidemic. A national survey indicates as many as 1 in 6 American children and teens have a treatable mental health disorder, including anxiety and depression, yet nearly half of those surveyed received no treatment from a mental health professional. Research shows that Black, Latino, multiracial and LGBTQ+ young people acknowledge feelings of sadness, hopelessness and suicidal ideation at higher rates than straight white youth.
These findings emphasize that our approach needs to change. Clinicians and educators need to work together to create learning environments that support the emotional health of children. This multipronged strategy includes an increase in school-based mental health professionals and creating educational specialists similar to those in reading and language arts that can identify and respond to behavioral health challenges in schools. Prevention and intervention services mitigate the development of behavioral health disorders and demonstrably contribute to academic success.
As the media continues to shine light on this national crisis, our children need their parents and neighbors to fight for the school-based mental health services and teacher training in social-emotional learning, inclusion and mental health that is essential to their children’s academic and emotional development.
Dr. Nicholas Covino
President, William James College, Newton
We must do more to address gun violence
To the editor:
Gun violence has taken a major toll on this country — more Americans have died as a result of gun-related injuries in 2021 than any other year on record. Such deaths are up 23% from 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of that, in 2020 the leading causes of death for Americans ages 0-24 were related to firearms and gun violence. The evidence keeps building on why firearms should be properly kept out of sensitive places.
Bill H.2359 in the Massachusetts Legislature keeps people from carrying firearms into sensitive places. Keeping more facilities safe is a massive concern in our society, and needs to be dealt with. If this bill were to be turned into law, it would greatly help this cause.
Not only would this bill keep guns out of sensitive areas, it would also discourage people from carrying firearms around as firearms wouldn’t be allowed in a number of places. This would help further reduce accidents caused by firearms or misfires, which guarantees people to be safer.
One final reason for supporting this bill is that people can’t carry firearms in areas with children. In our country, there are, and have been, many problems concerning children and firearms. This bill would keep kids safe from firearms in addition to keeping guns out of playgrounds, day cares, parks and schools.
Bill H.2359 is an important bill and it should be on the top of the agenda board. This bill will help people keep certain sensitive places safe. It will discourage people from carrying firearms. Lastly, this bill would keep children safe and prevent terrible accidents from happening. This is a serious topic and something that should be dealt with right now.
Arnab Karanjit and Nathaniel McEvoy
Natick
Declawing cats is a horrific process
To the editor:
I would like to address an issue that is out of the public eye. When people think of suffering, they think of their fellow humans but not in this case. Millions of cats have been declawed since the 1950s. This is a horrific process used to make cats stop scratching.
The process of declawing cats is a terrible thing that some cat owners think is “helpful” for them. They think it will stop them from scratching their furniture. The process of declawing is torturous — imagine doing something instinctual and having a part of a limb removed.
There is currently state legislation in committee that would ban declawing cats. I urge all animal lovers and voters to contact their state senators to get Bill S.190 out of committee and onto the floor for a vote to help save cats from senseless pain.
Madeline Bonner
Natick
There are alternatives to declawing that don't involve harm
To the editor:
Cats all over the world are suffering day to day because of an extremely cruel surgery. It’s been used on cats since the 1950s, and it needs to be banned.
Declawing is the amputation of the last bone to the toe. A common misconception about this procedure is that it is just the removal of the nail. But really, it’s an entire bone that's being removed. It’s the equivalent to removing a human finger at the last knuckle.
But why should we have to compare it to something that would hypothetically affect us for it to be recognized? Declawing causes bone spurs, nerve damage and a general loss of natural ability for cats — they use their claws to dig (litter boxes). Without claws, your cat might not want to use the litter box and might move to other locations.
But that's not the point. The amount of pain and discomfort it puts cats through should be enough for it to be banned, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Declawing won’t even solve all of your problems because they also have teeth. There are many other pets available out there.
There are so many other alternatives to declawing cats that don't involve harm. For example, kitty caps. They’re tiny covers for your cat's nails and they are great scratch preventers, while also ensuring that the cat is happy, and still fully capable of fulfilling its natural duties.
Bill S.190, titled “An Act Prohibiting Inhumane Feline Declawing” is working to solve the problem, but it’s still stuck in committee. If all animal lovers could reach out to their elected officials to get this bill through, it would be greatly appreciated.
In summary, declawing needs to be illegal. It’s just unnecessary, harmful and needs to be banned.
Ella Curtis
Natick
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: MetroWest Milford Daily News Letters to the editor for Sunday, June 4
