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JOINT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING MARCH 10, 2020 AS SUICIDE PREVENTION AWARENESS DAY
WHEREAS, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and the 2nd leading cause of death among individuals 10 to 34 years of age; and
WHEREAS,  in the United States, one person dies by suicide every 11.14 minutes, resulting in over 47,000 suicides each year; and
WHEREAS,  suicide is the only leading cause of death in the United States that has increased every year for the past decade; and
WHEREAS,  it is estimated that there are over 1.4 million suicide attempts each year; and
WHEREAS,  suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in Maine; on average, one person dies by suicide every 32 hours in Maine; and more than 5 times as many people died by suicide in Maine in 2017 than in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents; and
WHEREAS,  over 90% of the people who die by suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental health condition, which is often not recognized or treated; and
WHEREAS,  suicide resulted in an estimated $69 billion in combined medical and work loss costs nationally in 2015; and
WHEREAS,  the stigma associated with mental health conditions and suicidality works against suicide prevention by discouraging persons at risk for suicide from seeking life-saving help and further traumatizes survivors of suicide loss and survivors of suicide attempts; and
WHEREAS,  suicide is a preventable national and state public health problem and suicide prevention must be a priority; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Legislature now assembled in the Second Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, take this opportunity to recognize March 10, 2020 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Day and to recognize the importance of the development and implementation of strategies to increase access to mental health and suicide prevention services.