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Opinion: Presidential debate moderators should ask about mental health policy
As the mom of three young adults, I am worried about their economic future — their ability to get jobs and afford homes.
But I am equally concerned about their mental health and well-being. A 2022 national survey found that approximately half of young people ages 18-25 have a mental illness, substance use disorder, or both. Suicide and overdose rates remain persistently high: As Nicholas Kristof has written, “every three or four days we lose as many Americans to drugs, alcohol and suicide as died in the Sept. 11 attacks,” affecting nearly all families in America. And yet, except for addressing the supply of fentanyl, neither presidential candidate has prioritized this country’s mental health crisis in their speeches, nor have interviewers questioned them on the topic.
