Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement I am a Master of Science Nursing (MSN) student at the Walden University. I powerfully support the projected bill, “Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention Act of 2021.” The bill is intended to improve access to mental health for both accessibility and treatment services. Besides, the bill is set to increase funding for mental health to the tune of $0.5 billion in the fiscal year 2022. Based on the supporting evidence of the bill, about one in every 4 Americans adults has a mental health problem. These equate to about 25% of all Americans adults and this is worrying. Although the rates vary from one state to another, there have been some critical changes in recent years. Furthermore, 110 million Americans are in areas with a mental professional shortage areas (MHA, 2020). The statistics are worrying and indicate the need for increase access to mental health care provisions in the United States. The other part of the bill is set to regulate the gun violence protection. With more than 60% of the suicides being committed using guns, it is necessary to advocate the needs of the patients. Moreover, victims of domestic abuse have high possibility of committing murder when a gun is present. According to the Mental Health America, gun violence is a contributing factor for development of mental illness (MHA, 2020). Thus there is need to regulate the mental health access in the country and alleviate the potential
Order this paper