Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

This Saturday, This Week, This Month

• September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month —a time to raise awareness of this stigmatized, and often taboo, topic. The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) uses this month to shift public perception, spread hope and share vital information to people affected by suicide. "Gun suicide claims the lives of nearly 24,000 people in America every year an average of 65 people per day, and the problem is getting worse. Over the past decade, the United States firearm suicide rate has increased 12 percent. This trend is of particular concern among young Americans, whose firearm suicide rate has increased 53 percent over the past 10 years, and for veterans, who have a firearm suicide rate one and a half times higher than nonveteran adults” - https://everytownsupportfund.org/september-is-suicide-prevention-awareness-month/
• This week (9/4 – 9/10/22) is National Suicide Prevention Week (NSPW) is an annual week-long campaign in the United States to inform and engage health professionals and the general public about suicide prevention and warning signs of suicide.
• And this Saturday, 9/10, is World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on 9/10 every year, in order to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides.

From the Moms Demand Action FC group:

• Out of the Darkness Team Fundraising Walk for Alliance for Suicide Prevention September 11, 2022 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, starting at the Veteran's Plaza in Spring Canyon Park, Fort Collins. You can join the Moms Demand Action fundraising team for Alliance for Suicide Prevention.* Gun suicides are by far the most successful attempts. The course is only 1K at the base of the foothills. There is no cost to register for the walk, though you can make a donation when you sign up, and you'll get a link to share with friends/family if they want to donate as well. Our team goal is $1500.  *Register here to join the Moms team, or to donate to the team if you can't walk.
  
• We now have a way to fundraise for special projects! Many of you have offered to donate for supplies for various chapter projects, and we didn't have an official way to fundraise for specific causes. Now we do! Currently, our Be SMART team is raising $120 dollars to purchase a biometric gun safe to display at tabling events. Biometric safes can be opened in a fraction of a second with a fingerprint sensor, but won't open if the fingerprint hasn't been programmed into the lock. These safes are especially good in homes with children. To donate to this campaign, please go to https://bit.ly/Momsfundraisergunsafe. 

Personal testimony from Anne:
My only personal experiences with suicide were associated with my brother Danny’s murder in 1986. James, the mentally unstable brother-in-law who shot him, took his own life a few days later. In the following years, Danny’s severely injured wife and his oldest son attempted suicide. James’ mother and sister both took their own lives. Perhaps this was an extraordinary situation, but it emphasized for me that suicide is not an end to tragedy; rather it almost always creates more tragedy. Even for someone who has committed a crime, it takes away the opportunity for redemption. 

Please consider joining the Out of the Darkness Walk on Sunday (9/11), above. Also consider making a contribution through the website(s) given above.
 
Anne Thompson, Ending Gun Violence Team

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