BILL NUMBER: SCR 71	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  131
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Torres
   (Coauthors: Senators Block, Evans, Hueso, Padilla, and Yee)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Frazier, and Hall)

                        AUGUST 22, 2013

   Relative to Suicide Prevention Week in California.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 71, Torres. Suicide Prevention Week in California.
   This measure would proclaim the week of September 8, 2013, through
September 14, 2013, as Suicide Prevention Week in California.



   WHEREAS, California recognizes suicide as a public health problem
and suicide prevention as a statewide responsibility; and
   WHEREAS, Designating the second week of September as "Suicide
Prevention Week in California" would overlap with World Suicide
Prevention Day, which occurs on September 10, 2013, and is recognized
internationally and supported by the World Health Organization; and
   WHEREAS, Suicide is the 10th leading cause of all deaths in the
United States and the 44th leading cause of all deaths in California;
and
   WHEREAS, On average, 105 people commit suicide every day in the
United States, which equals approximately one person every 14.2
minutes; and
   WHEREAS, In the United States, rates of suicide are highest among
people from 45 to 54 years of age, and rates of suicide among youth
who are from 15 to 24 years of age, have increased more than 200
percent in the last 50 years; and
   WHEREAS, Each day, an estimated 22 veterans in the United States
commit suicide, which equals approximately one veteran every 65
minutes; and
   WHEREAS, It is estimated that there are 4.78 million people in the
United States, known as survivors of suicide, who have lost a loved
one to suicide; and
   WHEREAS, A great many suicides are preventable; and
   WHEREAS, Most suicidal people display warning signals of their
intentions; however, others are often unaware of these signals or
unsure what to do about them; and
   WHEREAS, The stigma associated with mental illness and suicide
works against suicide prevention by discouraging persons at risk for
suicide from seeking lifesaving help and further traumatizes
survivors of suicide; and
   WHEREAS, The State of California established the State Department
of Health Care Services-Suicide Prevention Program (SPP), published
the California Strategic Plan on Suicide Prevention in 2008, and has
supported multiple statewide and local projects launched under the
Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63); and
   WHEREAS, The State of California recognizes the efforts of
organizations such as the American Association of Suicidology that
are dedicated to reducing the frequency of suicide attempts and
deaths and the pain of survivors of suicide through educational
programs, research programs, intervention services, and bereavement
services; and
   WHEREAS, Suicide Prevention Week in California is a time to
acknowledge the tragic loss of individuals who have committed suicide
and to commemorate the actions of organizations and individuals
working to prevent suicide and raise awareness of suicide as a public
health issue; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the week of
September 8, 2013, through September 14, 2013, as "Suicide
Prevention Week in California"; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.