Political Quotes

“I rise today to recognize the 37th annual National Suicide Prevention Week, which began on September 4 and culminated with World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10. I take this opportunity to reflect on the destructive effects of suicide on families and communities and to raise awareness about the need for an effective national suicide prevention strategy to help communities address this serious public mental health threat. Suicide is a major cause of premature death, and we must do more to prevent it. The statistics about suicide are deeply concerning. In our Nation, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death for all ages. Among young adults ages 15 through 24, there are approximately 100 to 200 attempts for every completed suicide. Suicide takes the lives of approximately 30,000 Americans each year, and a person dies by suicide almost every 15 minutes. Our Nation's veterans account for 20 percent of suicides and the Army recently suffered a record number of suicides this past July. In my State of South Dakota, suicide is the fourth-leading cause of death among all South Dakotans and the second-leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24. The rate of youth suicide in my State is over three times the national average. These statistics place South Dakota among a group of Western States that consistently has a higher rate of suicide than the rest of the country.…”