Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 9–Assemblymen Parks, Anderson, Andonov, Angle, Arberry, Atkinson, Beers, Brown, Buckley, Carpenter, Chowning, Christensen, Claborn, Collins, Conklin, Geddes, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goicoechea, Goldwater, Grady, Griffin, Gustavson, Hardy, Hettrick, Horne, Knecht, Koivisto, Leslie, Mabey, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, McCleary, Mortenson, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Perkins, Pierce, Sherer, Weber and Williams

 

March 24, 2003

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Joint Sponsors: Senators O’Connell, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Cegavske, Coffin, Hardy, Mathews, McGinness, Neal, Nolan, Raggio, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Tiffany, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

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Read and Adopted

 

SUMMARY—Designates March 24, 2003, as Suicide Prevention Day in Nevada. (BDR R‑1325)

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

Assembly CONCURRENT RESOLUTION—Designating March 24, 2003, as Suicide Prevention Day in Nevada.

 

1-1  Whereas, The State of Nevada has ranked at the top of the list

1-2  of states having the highest rates of suicide for at least 2 decades,

1-3  with a rate that is twice the national average; and

1-4  Whereas, Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death in Nevada,

1-5  exceeded only by heart disease, cancer, pulmonary disease and

1-6  stroke, and Nevada is the only state in which suicides outnumber

1-7  deaths related to motor vehicles; and

1-8  Whereas, Research indicates that the vast majority of suicide

1-9  victims in Nevada are actually residents of this state, and not tourists

1-10  as is the typical assumption; and

2-1  Whereas, The most common methods of committing suicide in

2-2  this state involve the use of firearms, the ingestion of poison, or

2-3  suffocation or asphyxiation; and

2-4  Whereas, In the report entitled National Strategy for Suicide

2-5  Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action, issued by the Surgeon

2-6  General of the United States in 2001, the plan to reduce the high rate

2-7  of suicide in our Nation emphasized the importance of public

2-8  awareness of suicide as a serious, but preventable, public health

2-9  problem; and

2-10      Whereas, Research conducted by public health and mental

2-11  health agencies in Nevada reveals a lack of public awareness of the

2-12  seriousness of the problem of suicide in our State and the lack of a

2-13  comprehensive suicide prevention program in Nevada for the

2-14  mentally ill and homeless; and

2-15      Whereas, There has been an admitted need to improve suicide

2-16  prevention programs in Nevada’s schools because studies show that

2-17  30 percent of middle school and high school students in Nevada

2-18  have experienced depression, a leading indicator of suicide, and that

2-19  nearly 20 percent of students have seriously considered attempting

2-20  suicide; and

2-21      Whereas, The rural counties in Nevada have a higher rate of

2-22  suicide than the larger counties of Clark and Washoe, and the need

2-23  for the State to develop a suicide strategy that recognizes the unique

2-24  culture of these smaller communities would be beneficial to the

2-25  entire State; and

2-26      Whereas, Because of the larger populations in Washoe and

2-27  Clark Counties, the residents of those counties must also be made

2-28  aware of the gravity of the problem of suicide; and

2-29      Whereas, The continuing effectiveness of public campaigns

2-30  waged against public health problems such as tuberculosis, heart

2-31  disease, unintentional injury, and alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse

2-32  cannot be overstated; and

2-33      Whereas, The recognition of suicide as a public health problem

2-34  and the institution of a public campaign in which all Nevadans form

2-35  a coalition to address suicide prevention, with the goal of reducing

2-36  suicides in each community, constitutes a productive first step in

2-37  overcoming this devastating problem; and

2-38      Whereas, Cooperative efforts such as the Crisis Call Center in

2-39  Reno, Nevada, with support from the Division of Mental Health and

2-40  Developmental Services of the Department of Human Resources,

2-41  and the Yellow Ribbon Program in Douglas County, a community-

2-42  based suicide prevention program, have a great impact in reducing

2-43  suicide and serve as models for coping with the problems related to

2-44  suicide; now, therefore, be it

3-1  Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the

3-2  Senate Concurring, That March 24, 2003, is hereby designated

3-3  as Suicide Prevention Day in Nevada; and be it further

3-4  Resolved, That the members of the 72nd Session of the

3-5  Nevada Legislature are committed to creating a greater public

3-6  awareness of the seriousness of the problem of suicide in Nevada;

3-7  and be it further

3-8  Resolved, That all Nevadans are hereby urged to address the

3-9  problem of suicide in this state by providing education regarding

3-10  suicide prevention and by furnishing support for the surviving

3-11  family and friends of suicide victims; and be it further

3-12      Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and

3-13  transmit a copy of this resolution to the Crisis Call Center in Reno,

3-14  Nevada.

 

3-15  H