The Cause of Gun Violence in America

As some of you know, I’ve served on the board of WellLife Network for the past twelve years, the last three as Chairman. WellLife is one of NY’s largest behavioral health agencies, providing residential and day programs for over 5,500 individuals dealing with behavioral issues, substance abuse, or developmental disabilities.

The Agency is funded by many state agencies, and to a much lesser extent, donations from individuals who support its mission. More on that later when we prepare for our next campaign.

Despite our best efforts to bring mental health out of the closet, people suffering from mental health are ostracized by society, or at the very least, misunderstood.

Once again, this came to light this week as the nation wrestled with two mass shootings. As is the case each time a mass shooting occurs (the very notion of “each time this occurs,” is gut-wrenching), the subject of mental health leaps to the forefront as a significant cause.

Dr. Howell Schrage, WellLife’s medical director, wrote a blog post this week about some not-so-surprising statistics about mental health and gun violence, which can be viewed here.

I’ve always made it a point not to espouse political views on this blog, and this can be viewed as doing such. However, this is an important issue that deserves attention.

Jeffrey Finkle

Named one of the “25 Angel Investors in New York You Need to Know” by AlleyWatch in 2014, Jeff has been a venture investor for ten years, an angel investor for eight years. Jeff is CEO of Arcview Ventures, the manager of The Arcview Collective Fund, the first member-managed fund in cannabis. He also serves as Chairman of the Evaluation Committee and Treasurer of the ARC Angel Fund. Jeff has been actively advising startups at Reitler Advisory Group and publishes insights to his blog www.finkabout.it.

He is a frequent panelist, speaker, and judge on venture investing and pitch competitions in NY. Jeff has also guest lectured and held office hours for many incubators / accelerators including Start-up Leadership Program, 37 Angels, NYU Polytech Incubator (New York City and Brooklyn), DreamIT Ventures, and FashInvest. Prior to his work with angel and seed groups, Jeff was a partner of Odeon Capital Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund. Prior to Odeon, Jeff was an operating executive at CA, Inc., and Cheyenne Software, Inc., where he served as GM of the Unix Division, VP of Corporate Development, VP of Corporate Marketing, and Director of Product Management. Jeff also serves as Chairman of the Board of WellLife Network, a not-for-profit offering residential, clinical, and day programs to 25,000 individuals with developmental, psychological, and behavioral disabilities in NYC’s five boroughs and Long Island.

Fink About It