Parkland survivors require counseling

In the aftermath of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, this horrendous and insidious act is continuing to kill our children. Not with bullets, but with depression. This depression will continue throughout their lifetime if something is not done now. Not next week or next month, but now, and I am not talking about gun control. That is the Democratic political solution to deal with any mass shooting. The real problem is mental health.

Since 1990, I have been an advocate of a 12-step program in the public schools. Not religion, but a spiritual program that can bring these young people together to work on a solution to their problem, depression. This is a new program. Once implemented, these young people can help themselves by helping each other with this common problem. This program was first used to treat alcoholism. Over the past 80 years, this program has been used to treat every disorder known to man. Most importantly, it is used to treat depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and countless other mental health issues.

If something is not done now, these students could turn to alcohol, drugs and even violence to try and compensate for this depression. These are cold hard facts. In reading the article, “Douglas students battle depression,” (April 5), these young people are crying out for help. For myself and many other people my wife and I know, we will volunteer our time to help these children. When are we going to wake up and become the solution instead of continuing to be the problem?

STEPHEN BARTO SR.,