Over 30 Advocates from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Visit Sacramento to Meet with Lawmakers

News provided by

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Mar 12, 2015, 11:14 ET

SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Each year in the United States, suicide claims over 40,000 lives – more than war, murder, and natural disasters combined. In California, one person dies by suicide every two hours. On Thursday, March 12, 2015, over 30 volunteers from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the largest suicide prevention organization in the United States, will visit with lawmakers in Sacramento during the third annual AFSP-California State Capitol Day. These advocates will update lawmakers on statewide efforts to expand suicide prevention training for school personnel and mental health clinicians and to include suicide barriers on the Golden Gate and other California bridges.

"Suicide can be prevented. Building bridge barriers works to prevent suicide - the research shows this. California is finally addressing this issue on the Golden Gate and on other bridges across our state and we must continue to invest in these types of preventative measures to keep our citizens safe," said Gordon Doughty, one of the three co-chairs of AFSP's California public policy committee. A resident of the San Francisco Bay area, Doughty has been involved with AFSP since losing his daughter to suicide in 2004.

"People tend to assume that mental health professionals have been trained in suicide prevention and that's not necessarily true. We have the opportunity here in California to change that," explained Sacramento area resident Mike Gonzales, another of the co-chairs of AFSP's California public policy committee.

"Teachers play a key role in the lives of our children and teenagers, but in California teachers are not receiving consistent, evidence-based training in suicide prevention. This gap in their education needs to be closed before we lose any more California students to suicide," said Che Hernandez, San Diego County resident and a co-chairs of AFSP's California public policy committee. Hernandez has been involved with AFSP since losing his nephew to suicide in 2009. "After a while, I realized I couldn't change what happened in my own family, but that I could join with other advocates and be of service to others through advocacy and outreach."

This is the third year AFSP advocates will be visiting California state lawmakers. Suicide continues to be a top preventable public health problem in California; to help address this, over the past two years two new local chapters of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention were formed, i.e. AFSP Orange County and AFSP Coachella Valley, and one additional chapter currently in formation in the Central Valley. Advocates will be offering the six California chapters of AFSP as a resource on suicide prevention, education, and research to each legislative office and a source of support for constituents who have been impacted by suicide.

Suicide in California
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 25-34 in California, and the third leading cause of death for people aged 10-24. Suicide cost California a total of $4, 246,494,000 of combined lifetime medical and work loss cost in 2010, or an average of $1,085,227 per suicide death. Over twice as many people die by suicide in California annually as by homicide.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention leads the fight against suicide. We fund research, create educational programs, advocate for public policy, and support those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, AFSP has 75 local chapters with programs and events nationwide. Review our Annual Report to learn more about AFSP's lifesaving work, and join the national conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.