by
Dominique Marsalek
| Sep 03, 2020
On August 6, 2020, the former First Lady, Michelle Obama,
revealed to the world that like many of us, she is suffering from depression due to the global pandemic, racial
strife in the U.S., and the current state of politics. According to data shared by the United States Department of Health Human Services, the majority
of people who have depression do not die by suicide nor suffer from chronic
suicidal ideation. However, major depression is a risk factor for suicide. To
measure the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in America, the National Center
for Health Statistics has partnered with the Census Bureau on a new data
collection project, the Household Pulse Survey. The study found that Americans were reporting a rate
of depression three times higher than what was reported in 2019. Awareness of
the social determinants of suicide and suicide prevention efforts have rarely
been so important.
The American Counseling Association (ACA) is dedicated to
supporting the counseling profession in its efforts to address and prevent
suicide. For the past several years, ACA has worked tirelessly to promote a
policy agenda that includes and highlights suicide prevention initiatives
throughout the country. In late 2019, Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (S.2661) with overwhelming
support of the counseling community and with the guidance of ACA policy staff
who worked in coalition with national allies to elevate the voice of counselors
throughout the process. Additionally, a companion bill was introduced to the
House of Representatives, H.R.4194,
by Representative Chris Stewart (R-UT). Prior to S.2661, Congress directed the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assess the need for and the impact
of an easy-to-use three-digit National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The FCC
released their report last August with an affirmative recommendation, finding
that an easy-to-use national hotline would reduce fatalities across the United
States.
Due in part to these collaborative efforts and the resulting
national discourse, the FCC adopted new rules to establish ‘988’ as the nationwide phone number for
suicide prevention support on July 16, 2020. The new easy-to-use hotline will
link Americans in crisis with mental health crisis counselors. The new ‘988’ hotline
will be available for use beginning on July 16, 2022. For now, Americans who need
help should continue to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by
calling 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK).
ACA continues to advocate on critical legislation for
suicide prevention. Recently, ACA collaborated with national mental health and education
nonprofits on efforts to promote and move forward Congressmen Scott Peters’
(D-CA) and Gus Bilirakis’ (R-FL) bipartisan H.R.7293,
the Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for UniversalPrevention (STANDUP) Act. This legislation will help prevent youth suicides by
encouraging local, state, and tribal education agencies to implement student
suicide awareness and prevention training policies for grades six through
twelve. ACA’s letter to Congress in support of this legislation highlighted
that since 2010, suicide has been the second-leading cause of death for young Americans ages 10-24. A recent study by ‘Trust for America’s Health and Well Being’ found that
adolescent suicide rates for young people ages 12-19 increased by 87% from 2007
to 2017.
Understandably, COVID-19 has heightened concerns around the
mental health of Americans. According to the Well Being Trust, an approximately
75,000 additional suicides are estimated to be associated with COVID-19. The
data shows that this will impact marginalized and at-risk youth the most,
including Black/African American youth, LGBTQ youth, ethnic minorities, foster
youth, and low-income youth. Studies of previous pandemics, such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS), have shown that children experience increased levels of anxiety and
stress from the public health strategies designed to address pandemics, such as
social isolation. It is incumbent upon us to provide support for young
individuals facing unprecedented difficulties during this pandemic.
For more information on the American Counseling
Association’s work to promote suicide prevention legislation and policy, please
visit our Government
Affairs web page and subscribe
to our updates.