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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Suicide is a major public health problem and a | ||||||
| 3 | leading cause of death in the United States
that can have | ||||||
| 4 | lasting effects on the family, friends, and communities of the | ||||||
| 5 | person who acts to take his or her
life; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the | ||||||
| 7 | United States, and in 2015, was responsible
for 44,193 deaths, | ||||||
| 8 | or approximately one suicide death every 12 minutes; more than | ||||||
| 9 | 1,000 Illinoisans die each
year by suicide; Illinois death by | ||||||
| 10 | suicide averages 2.9 every day, and suicide attempts average | ||||||
| 11 | 16.7 every day;
individuals ages 15 to 19 have the highest | ||||||
| 12 | suicide attempt rate for any age group in Illinois; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Goal 1 of the Illinois Department of Public | ||||||
| 14 | Health's Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan is
to "... increase | ||||||
| 15 | awareness, knowledge, and competency in suicide prevention, | ||||||
| 16 | assessment and treatment for first
responders and health care, | ||||||
| 17 | social service, clergy, law enforcement and school personnel"; | ||||||
| 18 | and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Following the tragic loss of their 27-year old | ||||||
| 20 | son, Stephen, the fifth of their eight children,
to suicide on | ||||||
| 21 | June 13. 1987, Stephen's parents, Edward and Mary Alice Sexton, | ||||||
| 22 | decided to make their son's
death a motivation for furthering | ||||||
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| 1 | life; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, To realize that goal, the Sextons founded the | ||||||
| 3 | Stephen Sexton Memorial Foundation in 1987
to raise funds for | ||||||
| 4 | programs focused on the unmet need they discovered for suicide | ||||||
| 5 | prevention, awareness,
and research programs in Illinois; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Since its founding, the foundation has raised over | ||||||
| 7 | $1 million in funding for these
programs, almost exclusively | ||||||
| 8 | through the grassroots fundraising efforts of members of the | ||||||
| 9 | Sexton Family and
their friends; these programs include, among | ||||||
| 10 | others, Maryville Academy's Stephen Sexton Training Institute | ||||||
| 11 | and the Glenview Youth Service; therefore, be it
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| 12 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 13 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that in | ||||||
| 14 | light of the critical importance of expanding suicide | ||||||
| 15 | prevention and awareness in Illinois, and in recognition of the | ||||||
| 16 | commitment and pioneering efforts of the Sexton Family over | ||||||
| 17 | more than 30 years to fund prevention and awareness programs in | ||||||
| 18 | Illinois in honor of the life of their son, Stephen T. Sexton, | ||||||
| 19 | that we declare June 13, 2018 as Suicide Awareness Day in | ||||||
| 20 | Illinois; and be it further | ||||||
| 21 | RESOLVED, That we encourage the sharing of suicide | ||||||
| 22 | awareness and prevention strategies among
individuals, | ||||||
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| 1 | communities and organizations so that all Illinoisans have | ||||||
| 2 | access to the resources they need to
discuss suicide awareness | ||||||
| 3 | and prevention and dispel the myths, stigma, and shame | ||||||
| 4 | surrounding suicide that
hinders efforts to prevent it; and be | ||||||
| 5 | it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to the Sexton family, the Maryville Academy, and the | ||||||
| 8 | Glenview Youth Service.
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