SMYRNA, Tenn. (WKRN) — One state representative is working to break the silence on students’ struggles when it comes to mental health one roundtable at a time, following a student’s suicide at Middle Tennessee State University.
Rep. Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) hosted a town hall Monday on the worsening mental health crisis among students, and how the state, various organizations, and lawmakers can help.
“This issue affects everybody,” Rep. Sparks said. “Hopefully this discussion today has some kind of positive outcomes for solutions for this next generation.”
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A panel made up of stakeholders from the state of Tennessee, leaders of local mental health and recovery organizations, and Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville) answered questions about the problems students face regarding mental health, including how social media has negatively impacted their well-being.
“It looks like a hockey stick of mental health issues that have correlated pretty consistently with the uptick in social media and technology usage that we, most people in this audience, because of our age didn’t have to deal with,” Rep. Hemmer said. “Now 90-plus percent of people have a cell phone.”