New task force created to address suicide prevent for gay youth
Fri. December 31, 2010 1:06 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Washington, D.C. -
The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Thursday added three new task forces to address suicide prevention efforts within high-risk populations, including youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).
The other added task forces created were for American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN); and military service members and veterans. This brings to six the number of task forces formed by the Action Alliance, the public-private partnership forged in September to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
"I am heartened that we are focusing attention on communities hardest hit by suicide. By shining a light on their struggles I am optimistic we can help them identify solutions and bring hope for a better tomorrow," said Gordon H. Smith, co-chair of the Action Alliance. Smith, a former U.S. senator who championed passage of the 2004 Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act following the loss of his son to suicide, now serves as President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters.
In the U.S., suicide claims over 34,000 lives annually - the equivalent of 94 suicides per day, or one suicide every 15 minutes. Studies from organizations such as the Suicide Prevention Resource Center report that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are from 1.5 to seven times more likely to report having attempted suicide than their non-LGBT peers, while transgender youth are believed to have higher rates of suicidal behavior as well.
Co-leading the LGBT Youth Task Force are Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education, and Charles Robbins, Executive Director of The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among LGBT youth.
"This task force will bring together the best minds in the country to combat suicide and make sure that every LGBT youth has the opportunity to grow up in a supportive, accepting community and to enter adulthood safely," Robbins said.
All task forces will include leading experts in the field, including researchers and scientists, advocates, family members, and others who are concerned and knowledgeable about preventing suicides.
In the coming months, the Action Alliance will determine how to address suicide risk in other populations where data show evidence of increasing or high rates of suicides or suicide attempts.
For more information, see actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org.
The other added task forces created were for American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN); and military service members and veterans. This brings to six the number of task forces formed by the Action Alliance, the public-private partnership forged in September to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
"I am heartened that we are focusing attention on communities hardest hit by suicide. By shining a light on their struggles I am optimistic we can help them identify solutions and bring hope for a better tomorrow," said Gordon H. Smith, co-chair of the Action Alliance. Smith, a former U.S. senator who championed passage of the 2004 Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act following the loss of his son to suicide, now serves as President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters.
In the U.S., suicide claims over 34,000 lives annually - the equivalent of 94 suicides per day, or one suicide every 15 minutes. Studies from organizations such as the Suicide Prevention Resource Center report that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are from 1.5 to seven times more likely to report having attempted suicide than their non-LGBT peers, while transgender youth are believed to have higher rates of suicidal behavior as well.
Co-leading the LGBT Youth Task Force are Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education, and Charles Robbins, Executive Director of The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among LGBT youth.
"This task force will bring together the best minds in the country to combat suicide and make sure that every LGBT youth has the opportunity to grow up in a supportive, accepting community and to enter adulthood safely," Robbins said.
All task forces will include leading experts in the field, including researchers and scientists, advocates, family members, and others who are concerned and knowledgeable about preventing suicides.
In the coming months, the Action Alliance will determine how to address suicide risk in other populations where data show evidence of increasing or high rates of suicides or suicide attempts.
For more information, see actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org.