State lawmaker calling for mental health funding after recent deadly shootings

CHICAGO - A series of shootings outside Chicago Public Schools is prompting one state lawmaker to call attention to the need for mental health funding. 

State Representative La Shawn Ford met with mental health professionals at a clinic on the city's West Side on Sunday.

Ford says there is a critical lack of mental health resources for the city's black population, which he says leads to acts of violence like the shootings outside Senn High School on Wednesday and Innovations High School in the Loop area that claimed the lives of three students. 

"We really want to elevate the fact that behavioral health is important and when we talk about all the support that's out here for violence prevention, one key component is behavioral health," said Ford. 

Ford also notes that black Chicagoans have seen the most significant increase in suicide rates since 2019.