My soul is heavy today from the issues of school violence and public health. Let me explain. I left my "safe" space of playing with my 20 mo. old twins to head to work this morning and was met with the tragic news of another school shooting. School. A "safe" place. Or at least it should be. Who knows what violence occurred in this young persons life to bring them to the desperation of attacking his classmates? What provoked him? What issues or demons were haunting him and for how long? Who could he have turned to for help? Maybe the answers to these questions will come with time. I'm not sure what comfort they will provide the victim's families or the Chardon community.

Then I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. The man in front of me was picking up a half dozen drugs and his total was well over $175. He spent the next 20 min. negotiating with the pharmacist which drugs he could afford to go without and how many days of the necessary drugs he could afford. All of this was going on while he son stood by. This man was morbidly obese and I imagine these drugs help him to manage whatever illnesses could be brought on by his weight. I struggled with the guilt of judging him for his personal nutrition choices, but I too struggle with eating healthy and trying to maintain a healthy weight. Something I haven't been able to do for some years now. What is really different about us? Do I have more self-discipline? I doubt it. Am I more educated and therefore understand the long-term consequences of my choices? Maybe. I think it might have something to do with being able to afford healthier options and having access to a gym and personal trainer. Our public health crisis is caught in this tangled web of economics, education, and welfare. The solutions are complex and will take years, maybe generations, to implement. In the meantime, this man is literally going day to day on his medication. He is not in some developing country, he is in my backyard.

So what? What can I do about either of these social sins? I can pray. And I do. I feel like that might be all I can do to help the families in Chardon, OH. I can reach out to local high school students who struggle with their own demons. What about the dad at CVS? Should I have offered to pay for his prescriptions? Is that the proverbial "band-aid"? Should I lobby my representatives to place a higher priority on public health issues? What is the role of the church in public health? The Ohio Council of Churches states: "The responsibility to care with compassion for ‘the least of these' who are in need of health care, or who are marginalized by the illness of the health care system, is clearly a duty of those who are Jesus' disciples" (Matthew 25:34-36).

I found a great article on Sojourner's website which balances the responsibility of the faith community and government to help those in need of public health assistance, physical or mental. It is more than 10 yrs. old, but the challenges are still the same. Check it out: http://www.sojo.net/magazine/2000/09/healing-sick-and-system