Suicide Prevention Week
September 7-13

During the 2008 legislative session, due to the efforts of KSPG members, Sept. 7–13 was officially declared Kentucky Suicide Prevention Week by a unanimous vote. Senate Resolution 86 was sponsored by Sen. Dan Seum, R-Louisville and House Resolution 100 was sponsored by Rep. Larry Clark, D-Louisville.

During this week, let’s take time to remember that every year more than 500 Kentuckians, or an average of three people every two days, die by suicide; and an estimated 3,000 plus Kentuckians attempt suicide each year.

Here are a few more facts to think about included
in these resolutions:

• Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in Kentuckians, exceeding deaths by homicide and HIV/AIDS by 300 percent.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death in Kentucky among youth between the ages of 15 and 24.
• The rate of suicide for older adults is also disproportionately high, with Kentuckians age 65 years and older having a rate higher than younger Kentuckians.
• As many as one third of the people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky suffer devastating and long-lasting emotional trauma when a family member, friend, co-worker, neighbor or classmate dies as a result of suicide.
• The causes of suicide are complex and multifaceted, involving psychological, biological and sociological factors.
• Suicide is often the result of untreated mental illness, especially depressive illnesses and research indicates that many suicides would have been preventable with immediate and appropriate intervention and treatment.
• Suicide prevention opportunities continue to increase due to advances in clinical research pertaining to the diagnosis and effective treatment of mental illness, along with advances in neuroscience and in the development of community-based suicide prevention initiatives.
• Additional research is needed to determine effective intervention strategies, especially for different age, gender, ethnic and cultural groups.
• Much more can be done to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help for emotional or mental health problems, as well as for seeking help for suicidal thoughts and behavior.
• Research demonstrates that increased public awareness of warning signs of suicide and awareness of appropriate and effective intervention strategies, would reduce suicide deaths.
• Over 200 volunteers across the Commonwealth of Kentucky have become Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper trainers in order to teach family, friends, neighbors and all Kentuckians how to help save the life of someone in a mental health crisis.
• Suicide attempts and completions impose, in addition to personal and economic loss to families and friends, a large unrecognized social and economic loss on the Commonwealth of Kentucky and on local communities, through medical, law enforcement and emergency personnel costs, as well as through lost economic and social contributions.
• In the year 2005, in Kentucky, 2,933 suicide attempters were treated in emergency rooms or admitted to hospitals for treatment and the hospital charges alone for suicide attempters admitted as inpatients exceeded $24 million.
• The United States Surgeon General has issued to the states ‘‘The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide’’ (1999) and the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (2002) to encourage states to develop and implement suicide prevention strategies based on these documents and the public health model.

Resolved by the legislature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
that the members of the legislature declare all of the following:

1. Suicide is a major public health problem that can be reduced with effective actions.
2. Suicide prevention is a state priority and counties and local communities are encouraged also to declare suicide prevention a priority.
3. Initiatives dedicated to the prevention of suicide, to the promotion of effective treatment for people at risk and to the support of people who have lost a loved one to suicide, are encouraged.
4. Development of accessible and affordable mental health treatment to enable people at risk of suicide to obtain these services, without fear of any stigma, is encouraged.
5. Citizens are encouraged to join in recognizing Sept. 7 – 13, 2008 as ‘‘Suicide Prevention Week’’ and in promoting suicide prevention activities.
6. State and local public and private organizations are encouraged to work in mutual cooperation with the Kentucky Suicide Prevention Group to continue developing and implementing a Kentucky Strategy for Suicide Prevention using the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention as a guideline.

Click here to view all activities scheduled for
Kentucky Suicide Prevention Week from Sept. 7 - 13.