Office of the Mayor

Proclamation

Lawrence, Kansas

WHEREAS:     In the United States, one person dies by suicide every 16 minutes; and

WHEREAS:     The overall rate of deaths by suicide in our country has only slightly declined from record highs in the early 1990’s; and

WHEREAS:     The rate of deaths by suicide in Kansas is even higher than the national rate, with suicide being the second leading cause of death for Kansans between the ages of 15 and 24 and the eleventh leading cause of all deaths in the state of Kansas, with a total of 380 Kansans dying by suicide during 2007; and

WHEREAS:     In each recent year between ten and twenty people in Douglas County died by suicide, leaving friends and families forever changed by their deaths; and

WHEREAS:     Many of those people who died never received effective mental health services, for many reasons including limited access to treatment, the stigma associated with using mental health treatment and the stigma associated with losing a loved one to suicide; and

WHEREAS:     Local businesses and organizations such as Peoples Bank, Headquarters Counseling Center, Douglas County CHIP, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical, Lawrence Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff's Department encourage local initiatives to reduce the frequency of suicide attempts and deaths based on the goals contained in the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention; and

WHEREAS:     Most suicide deaths are preventable when high quality mental health services are readily available and used

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Chestnut, Mayor of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, do hereby proclaim the week of September 6 -12, 2009 as

“SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK”

                                                                                    Robert Chestnut

                                                                                    Mayor

September 8, 2009