SJ0056 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0056 LRB101 18073 LAW 67511 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In Illinois, suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death and results in more than 1,000 deaths each year; for young adults 15 to 34 years of age, suicide is the third leading cause of death in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In Illinois, men are three to four times more likely than women to die from suicide, while more women than men report attempting suicide; and

WHEREAS, Suicide rates are higher among middle aged adults, but suicide attempt rates are higher among young people; and

WHEREAS, Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States in 2017; it is often a consequence of untreated mental illness and substance use disorders and as such is a preventable condition; and

WHEREAS, More than 47,000 Americans died by suicide, and more than 1.4 million adults attempted suicide in 2017; and

WHEREAS, Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 24, who have seen a 56 percent rise in suicide rates from 2007 to 2017; and

WHEREAS, At-risk populations, such as veterans, LGBTQ youth, and American Indians, have been shown to be particularly vulnerable; and

WHEREAS, More than 20 veterans die by suicide every day; between 2008 and 2016, there were more than 6,000 veteran suicides each year; and

WHEREAS, A person with mental health issues will often be vulnerable to suicide, in part because they lack access to care or will not have a positive response to the care they receive; and

WHEREAS, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has reported positive results regarding the effectiveness of the Suicide Prevention Hotline in reductions of suicidal ideation and hopelessness, improved suicide risk assessment, response to callers at imminent risk, and improving follow-up; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we support all efforts to make it easier for Americans in crisis to access potentially life-saving resources about suicide prevention, intervention, and mental health crisis by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the FCC to establish a new hotline for those Americans experiencing suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Commission to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider designating 988 as the 3-digit code to be used for this purpose.