The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Honors Representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ) for Exceptional Service

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American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Jun 24, 2015, 08:12 ET

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Each year in the United States, suicide claims over 41,000 lives – more than war, murder, and natural disasters combined. On average, one person dies by suicide every 12 hours in New Jersey. On Tuesday, June 23, 2015, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the largest suicide prevention organization in the United States, presented the Allies in Action Congressional Award to Representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ) for his exemplary work in preventing this leading cause of death. More than 240 AFSP volunteer field advocates from all 50 states were in attendance as part of the organization's Advocacy Forum.

"For six years we have been honoring members of Congress and policymakers who have helped us push suicide prevention to the forefront of our legislative process. With contributions like Representative Lance's, we are much closer to achieving our goal of reducing the suicide rate 20 percent by the year 2025," said John Madigan, AFSP vice president of public policy. "This award recognizes the invaluable contributions made by Congressman Lance, and allows local community members, who have lost a family member to suicide, to show their gratitude for his leadership in suicide prevention and access to mental health services."

Representative Lance is being recognized for introducing the Excellence in Mental Health which was signed into law by President Obama on April 1, 2015. This bill ensures that Mental Health Parity is a reality by improving quality and expanding access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment through community mental health clinics. The legislation established a two-year demonstration program in eight states to offer a broad range of mental health and substance use disorder services like 24-hour crisis psychiatric services while setting new high standards for providers.

Representative Lance is also being recognized for his work on the Modernizing Our Drug & Diagnostics Evaluation and Regulatory Network Cures Act (H.R. 3116) in the United States House of Representatives. The MODDERN Cures Act could help speed the development of new treatments and diagnostic tools that may improve the lives of people living with mental illness by encouraging the development of drugs to treat conditions with few or no medical options. The MODDERN Cures Act will also increase the number of tools that can predict which patients will receive the most benefit from particular medicines.

Suicide in New Jersey
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people ages 15-34 in New Jersey, and the 13^th leading cause of death in the state. Suicide cost New Jersey a total of $813,656,000 of combined lifetime medical and work loss cost in 2010, or an average of $1,131,650 per suicide death.

Representative Lance was recognized with this award along with Senator Murphy (D-CT), Senator Wicker (R-MS), and Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA).

** Photos of the award being presented available upon request. **

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention leads the fight against suicide. We fund research, offer 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 life-saving work. Join the national conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.