CHARLESTON -
It's still something Sonny and Diana Baber cannot talk about without crying.
On August 28, 2012, their 22 year old son Luke Baber shot and killed two state troopers, injured a Roane County deputy and injured a Clay County tow truck driver.
The shooting followed years, according to the Baber's, of trying to get help for Luke. Detailed in paperwork provided by the Baber family, Luke was hospitalized twice in Beckley, before trying to set the building on fire. In November 2009, the family tried to get him institutionalized against his will.
His mother, Diana Baber, wrote that Luke had ADHD as a child, was a slow learner, started using drugs and alcohol in his early teens, and suffered from "violent behavior, anxiety attacks, depression, severe personality disorder."
Baber wrote that her middle child, 19 at the time, "keeps saying that he wants to kill himself +/or anybody who gets in his way."
The application was denied by a Fayette County Judge, citing insufficient evidence that Baber "is likely to cause serious harm to himself and/or others." The judge recommended criminal charges be filed rather than hospitalizing him.
The Baber's unanswered pleas for help is not unique in West Virginia, say experts.
"There are not adequate trained providers, there are not adequate out patient facilities," said Dr. Ahmed Faheem, Chairman of the West Virginia Comprehensive Behavioral Health Commission (CBHC).
Faheem has been focusing on raising awareness of mental health awareness across the state for several years. The CBHC has been gaining support from legislators, too.
"Sooner or later the legislature will have to look at adding more money into mental health services," said Faheem.
In schools, too, students are without the counseling services that they need, according to experts.
On average, every West Virginia counselor has 520 students that he or she must see.
"That's just not realistic," said Iestyn J. Bright with the West Virginia School Counselor Association. "It's absolutely fair to call us the front lines of issues that take place."
Counselors from across the state were recognized by the legislature Thursday. The Association is lobbying for money to increase the number of counselors in counties most underserved. Ritchie County, for example, has a ratio of 779 students for every one counselor. Bright said it would take several million dollars to hire enough counselors to meet the need.
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