Erin Burnett OutFront exposing mental illness (blog #1)

Yesterday, CNN's Erin Burnett posted a story on her television show's blog page entitled "Kids in Crisis: family struggles with mentally ill son". The article features the story of a family whose adopted son began exhibiting violent behavior at a very young age. The boy, named Teddy, clearly needed to be in the care of a mental health facility full-time. However, due to a lack of space in their state's public mental health facilities and private mental health facilities that his parents couldn't afford, Teddy was in and out of different institutions throughout his childhood. He did not find a permanent residence in a facility until 2006, when it was ordered in court by a judge - after he murdered someone.

Mental illness is becoming an increasingly bigger problem in the United States. The rise in shootings and other violence in recent years has brought this issue to the forefront, and is closely related to the political debate regarding gun control. Burnett asks whether a person really has to commit murder in order to have their illness taken seriously and get the treatment they really need. She uses positive face to expose the flaws in America's mental health care system, explaining the issue for what it really is - a lack of hospital beds/funding required to get the mentally ill the care they need - and the highlighting the potential dangers if the issue of mental health is not given more attention.