According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates increased 33% between 1999 and 2019. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It was responsible for more than 47,500 deaths in 2019, which is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2019, 12 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.4 million attempted suicide.
The good news is 93% of Americans believe that suicide can be prevented, and 95% would take action to help someone close to them who was thinking about suicide. In addition, in the wake of COVID-19, 81% of those surveyed say it’s more important than ever to make suicide prevention a national priority.*
Our mission at SpeakUp ReachOut is to prevent suicide in Eagle County through training, awareness, and HOPE. Our job quite literally is to help you, and people like you, overcome barriers like not knowing what to say, not feeling comfortable with the topic or not feeling knowledgeable enough about suicide prevention to do something about it. We are here to help you make a difference, so that we ALL make a difference in preventing suicide.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, which includes World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th) and National Suicide Prevention Week (September 5th to 11th). In honor of these, SpeakUp ReachOut will be sharing resources and promoting suicide prevention awareness all month long. We want to help you have the tools and resources you need to feel empowered to make a difference. Together we CAN break the stigma and save lives!
How can you participate?
- Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for actions we can all take to prevent suicide. We’ll be posting an actionable tip each day.
- Watch the virtual screening of “Suicide: The Ripple Effect” on September 2nd. It is the inspiring story of Golden Gate Bridge suicide attempt survivor, world-renowned mental health advocate and motivational speaker Kevin Hines. #BeHereTomorrow
- Wear yellow on World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th) and tag us on social media.
- Join us for a hike and chat on one of our Hikes for Change in Beaver Creek (September 12th and 26th).
*August 2020 “Public Perception of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Survey Results”