#20 Suicide Prevention Resolution 2004-2005

Meredith Bellson 11 posts Aug 17, 2007 11:16 AM

#20. Suicide Prevention Resolution 2004 – 2005 NOTE: POST A MESSAGE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS! WHEREAS, nationally, an average of one person dies from suicide every 17 minutes representing not only waste of human life but untold suffering for the families and friends of those who die in this tragic way; and WHEREAS, suicide and youth suicide early intervention and prevention have been listed as urgent public health priorities by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003), the Institute of Medicine's Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative (2002), the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action (2001), and the Surgeon General's Call to Action To Prevent Suicide (1999); and WHEREAS, suicide is the one of leading causes of violent death worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO); in 2000, suicide accounted for nearly half of all violent deaths, followed by homicide (about a third) and armed conflicts (a fifth); and WHEREAS, suicide was the 11th leading cause of all deaths in the United States in 2001 according to The Center for Disease Control (CDC); and WHEREAS, research has shown that more than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have depression or another diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder; and WHEREAS, the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003) reported, “an astounding 80 percent of children entering the juvenile justice system have mental disorders;” untreated, these disorders can lead to recidivism and ultimately to suicide; and WHEREAS, according to the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), in 2001 the elderly made up 12 percent of the population but comprised 17.6 percent of all suicides; and 765,000 Americans attempt suicide each year; and WHEREAS, over 4,000 children and young adults tragically take their lives every year, making suicide the third overall cause of death for those between the ages of 10 and 24; and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third overall cause of death among college-age students; and WHEREAS, in 2000 and 2001, Tennessee families suffered a total of 18,671 suicide attempts and incurred a total of $75,296,883 in medical charges; and WHEREAS, in 2000, nearly one in every seven suicide deaths in Tennessee was aged 10 to 24 according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC); and WHEREAS, in 2002, 778 reported suicide deaths occurred in Tennessee according to the Tennessee Department of Health (DOH); and WHEREAS, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among people in the U.S. and in Tennessee in 2001 from the ages of 15 to 24 (TDOH); and more children and young adults die from suicide each year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined; and WHEREAS, the suicide rate for African-American males aged 15-19 increased 105 percent between 1980-1996 according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC); and the suicide rate for white males ages 15-24 tripled since 1950, while for white females it more than doubled according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP); and WHEREAS, according to the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, in Tennessee, one of every eleven high school students (9 percent) indicate they had attempted suicide in the last 12 months and one out of seven (14 percent) had made a plan about how they would attempt suicide; and WHEREAS, public awareness of this terrifying problem is a key to preventing further suffering and loss of life; and the risk for human self-destruction can be reduced through awareness, education and access to appropriate treatment; and WHEREAS, the Governor of TN appointed a Suicide Prevention Network Advisory Council to coordinate funding and implementation of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Strategy; and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network is a grassroots collaboration of Tennesseans and organizations working to eliminate the stigma of suicide, educate the community about the warning signs of suicide, and ultimately reduce the rate of suicide in our state; and NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare will urge citizens to work to prevent suicide and to raise awareness and tolerance around all people affected by this tragedy; and TCSW will advocate for a public and private partnership to work in collaboration to coordinate and implement the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Strategy based on the U.S. Surgeon General’s “Call to Action to Prevent Suicide.” Suicide Prevention Resolution 2007 – 2008 WHEREAS, nationally, an average of one person dies from suicide every 16 minutes according to the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), representing not only waste of human life but untold suffering for the families and friends of those who die in this tragic way; and WHEREAS, suicide and youth suicide early intervention and prevention have been listed as urgent public health priorities by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003), the Institute of Medicine's Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative (2002), the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action (2001), and the Surgeon General's Call to Action To Prevent Suicide (1999); and WHEREAS, suicide is the one of leading causes of violent death worldwide according to the World Health Organization (WHO); and WHEREAS, suicide was the 11th leading cause of all deaths in the United States in 2004 according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and WHEREAS, research has shown that more than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have depression or another diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP); and WHEREAS, the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003) reported, “an astounding 80 percent of children entering the juvenile justice system have mental disorders;” untreated, these disorders can lead to recidivism and ultimately to suicide; and WHEREAS, according to AAS, in 2004 the elderly made up 12.4 percent of the population but comprised 16 percent of all suicides; and conservatively 811,000 Americans attempt suicide each year; and WHEREAS, over 4,000 children and young adults tragically take their lives every year, making suicide the third overall cause of death for those between the ages of 10 and 24; and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third overall cause of death among college-age students; and WHEREAS, in 2005 nearly one in every nine suicide deaths in Tennessee was aged 10 to 24, according to the CDC; and WHEREAS, in 2005, 851 reported suicide deaths occurred in Tennessee according to the Tennessee Department of Health (DOH); and WHEREAS, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among people in the U.S. and in Tennessee in 2005 from the ages of 15 to 24 (TDOH); and more children and young adults die from suicide each year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined; and WHEREAS, according to the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, in Tennessee, one of every eleven high school students (9.4 percent) indicate they had attempted suicide in the last 12 months and one out of seven had made a plan about how they would attempt suicide; and WHEREAS, public awareness of this terrifying problem is a key to preventing further suffering and loss of life; and the risk for human self-destruction can be reduced through awareness, education and access to appropriate treatment; and WHEREAS, the Governor of Tennessee appointed a Suicide Prevention Network Advisory Council to coordinate funding and implementation of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Strategy; and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN) is a grassroots collaboration of Tennesseans and organizations working to eliminate the stigma of suicide, educate the community about the warning signs of suicide, and ultimately reduce the rate of suicide in our state; and NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that TSPN will urge citizens to work to prevent suicide and to raise awareness and compassion for all people affected by this tragedy; and TSPN will advocate for a public and private partnership to work in collaboration to coordinate and implement the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Strategy based on the U.S. Surgeon General’s “Call to Action to Prevent Suicide.” Last Edited on 17-Aug-2007 11:36 AM

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