After two children were killed in a horrifying mass shooting at a church in Minneapolis, Vice President JD Vance called it part of a “mental health crisis” in America.

If so. Then why is the Trump administration slashing mental health funding, undermining trust in treatment, and politicizing care instead of fixing it?

Cancelling Over $1 Billion in School Mental Health Funding 
Pausing $11.4 Billion in Addiction & Mental Health Grants
etc.

If our leaders truly believe mental illness is at the heart of mass violence, they must act accordingly—not just talk.

That means:

• Protecting access to medication, not stigmatizing antidepressants with unproven claims
• Increasing mental health funding, not cutting state and federal support programs
• Expanding community-based treatment, not redirecting resources to surveillance or incarceration
• Listening to mental health professionals, not silencing them with fear and misinformation

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now launching vague investigations into antidepressants—without transparency, peer review, or clinical oversight. Meanwhile, there is no evidence linking SSRIs to mass shootings, and decades of research shows these medications save lives.

Mental health care in the U.S. is already overwhelmed and underfunded. If this administration is serious about stopping mass violence through mental health intervention, they should stop attacking the very systems that provide care.

We are calling on JD Vance, the Department of Health and Human Services and Congress to:

Fully fund community mental health programs
Protect evidence-based treatment access for people with depression and anxiety
Reject fear-based narratives that deter people from seeking help.

Don’t politicize a crisis. Fix it.