World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10. It is a day set aside to emphasize efforts to help reduce the number of suicides that occur around the world each year. The objective of this day of awareness is to “focus efforts on directing treatment to those who need it most, and remember those affected by suicide.” Observers of this day are asked to wear yellow as a sign of solidarity, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In recognition of all those suffering from suicidal thoughts and ideation, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on Monday honoring World Suicide Prevention Day.
“Too many Americans have lost their lives to suicide,” read Biden’s proclamation. “Last year, nearly 50,000 Americans died by suicide, and in 2022, over 10 million seriously considered suicide. In 2022, suicide was the second leading cause of death for young people aged 10 to 14 and 25 to 34, and the suicide rate for veterans was 50 percent higher than for anyone else. Suicide is also a leading cause of maternal death.”
Biden emphasized the importance of seeking treatment and making treatment affordable. He acknowledged the financial challenges people face and pledged to connect more people in the country with quality and cost-effective treatment options. He explained how his administration is helping achieve this objective.
“Though there is no single cause or solution for suicide, we know that access to treatment and support can save lives,” Biden said. “However, getting care in a crisis can be hard to access or afford. In 2021, less than half of all adults with mental illness received the care they needed. And nearly 70 percent of children who seek mental health care cannot find it.”
“A key part of my Unity Agenda is to connect more Americans to affordable, quality mental health care and strengthen our mental health care system — which will help address many of the risk factors associated with suicide,” Biden said. “My Administration issued a rule that requires insurers to cover mental health care just as they do physical health care, and to make changes if required analyses show that health insurers are providing insufficient access to mental health care — an important step in ensuring people can get the mental health care they need.”
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Biden concluded with an optimistic tone, promising to do what he can to help elevate the quality of mental healthcare people receive in the country. Additionally, as part of his proclamation, he vowed to ameliorate programs that are focused on suicide prevention to hopefully save the lives of people in crisis in the future.
“During World Suicide Prevention Day, we recommit to improving suicide prevention programs and putting affordable, accessible mental health care within reach of communities across our Nation — for all the lives we have lost and all those we can still save,” Biden said.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
