Are Candidates Addressing the Facts? Check Out State Suicide Rates and Ranks; Unemployed Persons and Veterans are Especially at Risk
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has issued the second in a series of alerts reminding editors, reporters and others to ask candidates for public office at every level what they will do about the nations mental health crisis.
The latest NAMI alert highlights suicide rates and ranks, with special concern for unemployed persons and veterans. Approximately 35,000 Americans die from suicide each year. The most recent state-by-state data are from 2007, (see chart below) before the current economic crisis even began (source: American Association of Suicidology).
State budget crises have led to devastating cuts in mental health services, putting lives at risk. Federal mental health block grants also have been cut or frozen over the past 10 years.
On September 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported additional numbers:
For every two people who are murdered, three die by suicide. Thats the equivalent of one suicide every 15 minutes; almost 100 suicides a day.
More than eight million Americans seriously consider suicide each year; more than two million have suicide plans, and more than one million attempted to take their own lives.
Suicide is the eleventh-leading cause of death in the country and the third-leading cause in people ages 10-24 years.
Approximately 60 million Americans experience a mental health disorders, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in any given year. Less than one-third receives mental health care. Unemployed persons and veterans are at higher risk of suicide. Unemployed persons are four times more likely to report symptoms of mental illness. Male veterans are twice as likely to die by suicide compared to civilians.
1: Alaska 149 deaths - 21.8 (persons per 100,00)
2: Montana 196 deaths - 20.5 (persons per 100,00)
3: New Mexico - 401 deaths - 20.4 (persons per 100,00)
4: Wyoming 101 deaths - 19.3 (persons per 100,00)
5: Nevada 471 deaths - 18.4 (persons per 100,00)
6: Colorado 811 deaths - 16.7 (persons per 100,00)
7: West Virginia - 300 deaths - 16.6 (persons per 100,00)
8: Arizona - 1,016 deaths - 16.0 (persons per 100,00)
9: Oregon 594 deaths - 15.9 (persons per 100,00)
10: Kentucky 649 deaths - 15.3 (persons per 100,00)
11: Idaho 223 deaths - 14.9 (persons per 100,00)
12: North Dakota 95 deaths - 14.9 (persons per 100,00)
13: Oklahoma - 531 deaths - 14.7 (persons per 100,00)
14: Maine 191 deaths - 14.5 (persons per 100,00)
15: Utah - 378 deaths - 14.3 (persons per 100,00)
16: Vermont 89 deaths - 14.3 (persons per 100,00)
17: Arkansas 402 deaths - 14.2 (persons per 100,00)
18: Florida - 2,587 deaths - 14.2 (persons per 100,00)
19: Kansas 382 deaths - 13.8 (persons per 100,00)
20: Missouri 808 deaths - 13.7 (persons per 100,00)
21: Tennessee 844 deaths - 13.7 (persons per 100,00)
22: Mississippi 396 deaths - 13.6 (persons per 100,00)
23: Washington 865 deaths - 13.4 (persons per 100,00)
24: Wisconsin 729 deaths - 13.0 (persons per 100,00)
25: Alabama 592 deaths - 12.8 (persons per 100,00)
26: South Dakota 102 deaths - 12.8 (persons per 100,00)
27: Indiana 790 deaths - 12.5 (persons per 100,00)
28: Louisiana 522 deaths - 12.2 (persons per 100,00)
29: New Hampshire 158 deaths - 12.0 (persons per 100,00)
29: South Carolina 530 deaths - 12.0 (persons per 100,00)
31: North Carolina - 1,077 deaths - 11.9 (persons per 100,00)
32: Pennsylvania - 1,441 deaths - 11.6 (persons per 100,00)
33: Virginia 880 deaths - 11.4 (persons per 100,00)
34: Ohio - 1,295 deaths - 11.3 (persons per 100,00)
35: Michigan - 1,131 deaths - 11.2 (persons per 100,00)
36: Delaware 95 deaths - 11.0 (persons per 100,00)
37: Minnesota - 572 deaths - 11.0 (persons per 100,00)
38: Iowa 322 deaths - 10.8 (persons per 100,00)
39: Georgia - 997 deaths - 10.4 (persons per 100,00)
40: Hawaii 133 deaths - 10.4 (persons per 100,00)
42: Nebraska 181 deaths - 10.2 (persons per 100,00)
43: Texas - 2,433 deaths - 10.2 (persons per 100,00)
44: California - 3,602 deaths - 9.9 (persons per 100,00)
45: Maryland - 518 deaths - 9.2 (persons per 100,00)
46: Rhode Island 96 deaths - 9.1 (persons per 100,00)
47: Illinois - 1,108 deaths - 8.6 (persons per 100,00)
48: Massachusetts 516 deaths - 8.0 (persons per 100,00)
49: Connecticut 271 deaths - 7.7 (persons per 100,00)
50: New York - 1,396 deaths - 7.2 (persons per 100,00)
51: New Jersey - 596 deaths - 6.9 (persons per 100,00)
52: Washington D.C. 36 deaths - 6.1 (persons per 100,00)
About NAMI
NAMI is the nations largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates.
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