Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3–Committee on
Human Resources and Facilities

 

(On Behalf of the Legislative Committee to
Study Suicide Prevention)

 

February 10, 2003

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Human Resources and Facilities

 

SUMMARY—Urges each community in Nevada to form coalition of agencies and service providers to reduce number of suicides and provide support for survivors. (BDR R‑291)

 

~

 

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

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Urging each community in Nevada to form a coalition of agencies and service providers to reduce the number of suicides and provide support for survivors.

 

1-1  Whereas, For at least 2 decades, Nevada has ranked at the top

1-2  of the listing of states with high rates of suicide and has maintained

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

1-4  Whereas, National and state research indicates that Nevada’s

1-5  high rate of suicide is evident for all age groups and all

1-6  socioeconomic populations in the State, particularly for youth,

1-7  elderly men, Native Americans and residents of rural communities;

1-8  and

1-9  Whereas, The same research has found that the vast majority

1-10  of Nevada’s suicide victims are actually residents of Nevada, and

1-11  not tourists as is the typical assumption; and

1-12      Whereas, In 2001, the Surgeon General of the United States

1-13  issued a plan to reduce the nation’s high rate of suicide in his report

1-14  National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for

1-15  Action, which recognizes the importance of gaining strong and

1-16  broad support for suicide prevention through public awareness that

1-17  suicide is a serious public health problem which is preventable; and

2-1  Whereas, According to the Surgeon General, it is important

2-2  that suicide prevention be integrated into existing programs and

2-3  activities at the community level, and one of the goals of the

2-4  National Strategy is to develop and implement community-based

2-5  programs for suicide prevention; and

2-6  Whereas, One of the objectives under this goal is to increase

2-7  the number of states that have comprehensive plans for suicide

2-8  prevention which coordinate across governmental agencies, involve

2-9  the private sector and support the development, implementation and

2-10  evaluation of such plans in each community; and

2-11      Whereas, Plans created by states may help communities

2-12  address the local issues important in suicide prevention, for

2-13  example, such issues as the rate of suicide being affected by the

2-14  norms and cultural values of a community and the rate of suicide

2-15  varying with factors such as the percentage of the population that

2-16  resides in rural areas and the ethnic composition of the population;

2-17  and

2-18      Whereas, Another goal of the National Strategy is to improve

2-19  access to and community linkages with mental health and substance

2-20  abuse services, and a related objective is to increase the number of

2-21  cities and counties with outreach programs for health and social

2-22  services that incorporate mental health services and suicide

2-23  prevention for populations at risk of suicide; and

2-24      Whereas, Research conducted by public health and mental

2-25  health agencies in Nevada indicates that there is a lack of public

2-26  awareness of the seriousness of the suicide problem and a lack of

2-27  coordination and communication between existing private and

2-28  public agencies, particularly in communities in Clark County and

2-29  many of the rural counties; now, therefore, be it

2-30      Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the

2-31  Assembly Concurring, That in response to the Surgeon

2-32  General’s goals relating to community-based programs for suicide

2-33  prevention and linkages with mental health and substance abuse

2-34  services, each city and county in Nevada is hereby urged to form a

2-35  coalition of agencies and service providers to address suicide

2-36  prevention through education, response and treatment, with the

2-37  goals of reducing suicides in each community and providing support

2-38  for the surviving family and friends of suicide victims; and be it

2-39  further

2-40      Resolved, That the local programs for suicide prevention

2-41  should be developed based on each community’s resources and

2-42  needs; and be it further

2-43      Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and

2-44  transmit a copy of this resolution to the Nevada Association of

2-45  Counties, Nevada League of Cities and Municipalities, Director of

3-1  the Department of Human Resources, Nevada Public Health

3-2  Foundation, Nevada Chapter of the American Foundation for

3-3  Suicide Prevention, Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, Inc.,

3-4  Dean of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension at the

3-5  University of Nevada, Reno, Executive Director of the Nevada

3-6  Indian Commission, Nevada Chapters of the American Association

3-7  of Retired Persons, Nevada Parent-Teacher Association, Nevada

3-8  Hispanic Services, Inc., Nevada Association of Latin Americans,

3-9  and Nevada Chapters of the National Association for the

3-10  Advancement of Colored People.

 

3-11  H