Letters to the editor for Nov. 21

Warren’s plan on vet suicides hits the mark

In 2017, Washington state lost 176 veterans to suicide, among 6,000 nationally. Our state’s suicide rate for veterans is nearly twice the general population’s national average.

But these are not just statistics to me. In 2011, my intelligent, adventurous, loving husband, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, died by suicide at the age of 45. Every day, I feel the pain of his absence and of my inability to prevent his death.

In the years since, I have learned that if we are to be successful in our work to reduce suicides, prevention efforts must be targeted and appropriate. We must understand a particular community’s needs, how and where they access mental health, what specific barriers there might be to access, what means are likely to be used, and what protective or risk factors are common.

That’s why I am pleased to see that Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently released her plan to reduce veteran suicides by half in four years. Her proposal gets the big picture, and includes targeted research, investing in community organizations, critical expansion of access to mental health treatment, especially in under-served areas, and addressing the “invisible wounds” of PTSD and traumatic brain injury, which are known risk factors.

Any chief executive in our White House in 2021 will need to have thought about these issues and work closely with the military and veteran communities. We can and should all learn how to be a part of reducing these tragedies.

Students overwhelmed by too much homework

I would like to discuss the issue of having too much homework in schools. Students are already having negative reactions to school and having a ton of homework is not helping.

Homework overnight is stressful and can damage the students sleeping schedule, which could lead to a low attention span throughout the day and therefore affect their grade. Students need to sleep at least 7 to 8 hours a day to have a good rest before waking up early to head to school. It can’t be helped if a student does their hobbies before homework and soon completes it during the time they should be sleeping.

I believe that too much homework isn’t necessary — there should be a healthy amount, like 1 to 2 pages a week. Having too much can lead to the stress about hobbies. Students have things they’re interested in and chores they need to get done, or even personal things happening at their homes. So having too much homework along with dealing with all those things can be very overwhelming.

I hope you have a good opinion about this topic, I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions as well.