Civic Engagement Project: American Foundation For Suicide Prevention

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15-24. In 2017 alone, an estimated 1.4 million people attempted suicide, and on average, there are 129 suicides committed every day (“An Introduction to Suicide Prevention, 2019”). The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, through research, advocacy, education, and interactive screening programs raises awareness, funds scientific research, and provides useful resources in order to comfort and bring hope to those who are and who have been affected by suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has one solid mission – to save lives by continuously supporting any victims of mental health illness and utilizing suicide prevention efforts.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is taking action by advocating for public policies in mental health and funding the scientific research that is necessary for the education that is needed to better understand the drawbacks of mental health, suicide, and how to address it by reaching out to people all over the world who are at risk including their loved ones who are also touched by this. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention includes large communities in their efforts and organizes “out of the darkness” walks which encourage people to open up about personal struggles and loss. The core purpose of these walks is to raise the platform and change the way that our society views and approaches mental health and the stigma that surrounds it.

Forbes magazine featured the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in an article dated December 2014. The charity was nominated by a reader who lost her son to suicide. The reader who tragically lost her son recalls that supporting an organization such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention may not ever completely eradicate mental illness and suicide but that all of the money, dedicated research, time and efforts made to these causes certainly has a great chance of contributing to all sufferers of suicide, mental illness, and all who are brushed with it in a healthy way. She understands the pain and the trauma that is associated with suicide because she lives with it through the devastating loss of her son (Erb, 2014)

Suicide experts are expressing that suicide prevention programs are desperate for additional funding in the continued efforts to fight suicide in the U.S. (Ax, J. 2018). Suicide continues to be a growing problem with one suicide occurring every 12.9 minutes. Christine Moutier, the chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, says that the key is to think of suicide as a public health issue similar to cancer or AIDS (Ax, J. 2018). Experts say that suicide deaths are preventable but with federal funding for suicide trailing behind other major health issues, it makes it challenging for the crisis centers across the country to reach those who are in emergent need. Telephone hotlines such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline rely on funding so that they can continue to provide around the clock emergency support in an effort to change the minds of suicidal individuals.

One of the major objectives of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention is to raise mental health and suicide awareness via various campaigns, but according to DJ Jaffe, in his article, Preventing Suicide in all the Wrong Ways, no such evidence exists that awareness, whether through advertising or public relations, has the capacity to reduce or prevent suicide (Jaffe, D. J. (n.d.)) and other approaches that may be more effective at preventing suicide are being ignored. Suicide disproportionately affects individuals who suffer from mental illness. Instead of charity money being spent to advertise (bring awareness) through public service announcements, brochures, hotlines and speeches targeted to the general population, the money should go directly to the care of those who need it most.

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Who would be considered top priority? – those who have previously attempted suicide, relatives of those who have committed suicide, and seriously mental ill persons. These individuals are more known due to the likelihood of affiliations with the mental health systems or past family histories. Prioritizing these more “at risk” individuals would be a more efficient approach for the industry to reduce suicide (Jaffe, D. J. (n.d.)). The suicide prevention organizations would benefit more from utilizing charitable funds to focus on targeted care, rather than the majority spent on advertisements and awareness.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention states that their work impacts millions of people, and that every dollar donated will help to save the life of a child, a parent, a friend, or a loved one. It is an astronomical fact that suicide claims more lives than murder, war and natural disasters combined, yet suicide prevention receives the least funding when compared with the funding given to other leading causes of death. With the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention being the largest funder of suicide research today, I support the charity that I chose. As previously stated, suicide prevention organizations are desperate for funding and with the statistics that we are faced with, we cannot afford to let these organizations go under.

I do understand the importance of prioritizing the most “high-risk” individuals, especially those with serious mental illness and those who have previously attempted suicide because I do believe that a good bit of them are just reaching out for help and don’t want the permanent end; however, even though “awareness” does not guarantee a decline of mental health or suicide, I believe that it is still important that we reach out to and address concerns to all of the public. If suicide prevention charities cut down on a lot of the funding that is meant to raise awareness and place their focus directly on the individuals themselves, how could we ever reach those who suffer in silence? Sometimes, suicide is inevitable for certain people; they make an irreversible choice due to their own personal reasons, they don’t tell anyone, and then they follow through with that choice; perhaps they feel like nothing can be done to help them and this is the only escape.

The main reason I chose to research this charity is in memory of my cousin Derrick. He was my first cousin, and we grew up close together. He was the same age as my brother, and they were more siblings than Derrick’s actual siblings and my brother and I. Derrick’s life was cut entirely too short, and he took his own life when he was only 23 years old. Life is just barely beginning at that age. When I was reading about suicide risks discussed in my research, Derrick didn’t fit any of the obvious criteria. They say that those who are most likely to commit suicide are those with relationship, job, family or financial stress, loss of a loved one, or a debilitating physical ailment – none of these were apparent. Derrick was a handsome athlete, he coasted through high school, had many girlfriends, and more friends than I think I could have had in ten lifetimes. He came from a good family and he was intelligent. One random Wednesday on the eve of Thanksgiving, he made an instant choice that changed the lives of all of us forever. I believe that Derrick suffered in silence with an undiagnosed/untreated mental illness because there isn’t any other logical explanation. Derrick took on the weight of the world and would give sound advice to any of his many friends who faced life’s most difficult challenges, but when it came to his own inner struggles, they were hidden from all. I imagine it’s fair to think that maybe his fate would have been different if he did open up about the darkness that was hidden away, if he seen a pamphlet about alternatives to suicide or opening up about mental illness a few years, months, weeks, or even days prior – would it have changed anything? – It’s an impossible question, but it does give me some comfort knowing that the option exists because of an organization like the AFSP.

It is evident that this foundation prides themselves on educating the communities in large masses so that they can reach a multitude of people because many people do suffer in silence. Even a little bit of a difference, is still a difference. A life saved is still a life saved.