Suicide Prevention

Suicide is among the top ten leading causes of death in the United States, with rates of suicide rising among all age groups. To combat this increase, the APA's Department of Government Relations (DGR) is working to advance policies to reduce and prevent suicide and increase efforts to expand mental health and medical resources to reach the nation's most vulnerable populations. Most recently, the President signed the "Suicide Prevention Hotline" bill, which requires the Federal Communications Commission to study the feasibility of designating a simple, easy-to-remember dialing code to be used for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system.

APA is advocating to ensure that the suicide lifeline and other suicide-related programs have the resources necessary to serve those who need them. We are also working with state mental health agencies to fund needed crisis services in every state, to better serve adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance, and to ensure they can receive needed care in appropriate settings, while avoiding unnecessary emergency room boarding and criminal justice system involvement.