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

 

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

 

FILE NUMBER..........

 

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

 

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

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

 with a rate that is twice the national average; and

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

 exceeded only by heart disease, cancer, pulmonary disease and

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

 deaths related to motor vehicles; and

    Whereas, Research indicates that the vast majority of suicide

 victims in Nevada are actually residents of this state, and not

 tourists as is the typical assumption; and

    Whereas, The most common methods of committing suicide in

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

 suffocation or asphyxiation; and

    Whereas, In the report entitled National Strategy for Suicide

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

 General of the United States in 2001, the plan to reduce the high

 rate of suicide in our Nation emphasized the importance of public

 awareness of suicide as a serious, but preventable, public health

 problem; and

    Whereas, Research conducted by public health and mental

 health agencies in Nevada reveals a lack of public awareness of the

 seriousness of the problem of suicide in our State and the lack of a

 comprehensive suicide prevention program in Nevada for the

 mentally ill and homeless; and

    Whereas, There has been an admitted need to improve suicide

 prevention programs in Nevada’s schools because studies show that

 30 percent of middle school and high school students in Nevada

 have experienced depression, a leading indicator of suicide, and

 that

nearly 20 percent of students have seriously considered attempting

suicide; and

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

 suicide than the larger counties of Clark and Washoe, and the need

 for the State to develop a suicide strategy that recognizes the unique

 culture of these smaller communities would be beneficial to the

 entire State; and

    Whereas, Because of the larger populations in Washoe and

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

 aware of the gravity of the problem of suicide; and

    Whereas, The continuing effectiveness of public campaigns

 waged against public health problems such as tuberculosis, heart

 disease, unintentional injury, and alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse

 cannot be overstated; and

    Whereas, The recognition of suicide as a public health problem

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

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

 suicides in each community, constitutes a productive first step in

 overcoming this devastating problem; and

    Whereas, Cooperative efforts such as the Crisis Call Center in

 Reno, Nevada, with support from the Division of Mental Health

 and Developmental Services of the Department of Human

 Resources, and the Yellow Ribbon Program in Douglas County, a

 community-based suicide prevention program, have a great impact

 in reducing suicide and serve as models for coping with the

 problems related to suicide; now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the

 Senate Concurring, That March 24, 2003, is hereby designated

 as Suicide Prevention Day in Nevada; and be it further

    Resolved, That the members of the 72nd Session of the

 Nevada Legislature are committed to creating a greater public

 awareness of the seriousness of the problem of suicide in Nevada;

 and be it further

    Resolved, That all Nevadans are hereby urged to address the

 problem of suicide in this state by providing education regarding

 suicide prevention and by furnishing support for the surviving

 family and friends of suicide victims; and be it further

    Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and

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

 Nevada.

 

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