When we talk about men’s mental health, we tend to focus on what men are not doing: Not going to therapy. Not opening up. Not doing the work.
If the hope was to shame men into better mental health, it has not worked.
In Maryland, the male suicide nearly rate is four times the rate for women. Nationwide, suicide has climbed by more than a third since 2010 for young men. In Maryland and the country overall, the data track the same arc: rising deaths of despair, rising loneliness, rising disengagement from school and work.
The data send a clear message: We need to stop treating our young men and boys as problems to be solved, and start treating them as people to be invested in.
My administration’s governing philosophy is to leave no one behind, regardless of their gender or background. As the father of a son and a daughter, I want both of my children to grow up with all of their God-honoring and God-given opportunities.
