By Micah Danney
With #suicides, including those by #gun, the second-leading cause of death for 10- through 34-year-olds — and #suicides surging by 35% during 20 years ending in 2019 — it’s important to raise awareness that #suicides are preventable and that most of those survive an attempt do not try another.
That’s according to the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, whose early December report, “Convergence Dialogue on #Guns and #SuicidePrevention,” highlights interventions, including safe #gun storage and efforts to safeguard the #mentalhealth of young people and others who may be suicidal.
“A firearm doesn’t make someone want to kill themselves, but it means that in a moment of impulsivity, a feeling — maybe so down that they can’t see straight — if someone reaches for a #gun, they’re unlikely to survive,” said Dr. Emmy Betz, an emergency #physician and researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine emergency department #physician and researcher who co-authored the report.
Convergence Senior Director Russell Krumnow, who leads the organization’s #gun #suicideprevention project, wrote via email that #suicide isn’t a foregone conclusion for those who are considering it. Action can be taken, including, “Education for #gunowners about lethal means safety. [Making] safer storage options available. [Providing] ways to temporarily have #guns stored outside the home during a crisis.
The report, he continued, “calls for credible messengers to engage #gunowners about these solutions. That means meeting them where they are — with information at #gun ranges or #gun shops and with folks they can identify with and relate to. #Veterans speaking to other #veterans about their experiences to normalize getting help during a tough time. Houses of worship reaching people in their community with #mentalhealthresources.”
#Guns were used in roughly 50% of the 47,511 #suicides nationwide in 2019, the last year for which data is available. That made #guns the 10th leading cause of death in #America.
#James Donaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
Order your copy of James Donaldson’s latest book,
Celebrating Your Gift of Life:
From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy
Almost all #suicideattempts by #gun are deadly; #guns in homes raise risks
Its additional key findings, based on the 2019 data, include these:
- 90% of #suicideattempts with a #gun were fatal.
- #Suicide rates were highest among Indigenous #Americans, including #adolescents and young #adults.
- #Suicide rates were second-highest among whites, who had the highest rate of #gun #suicides; 85 percent of all #suicides by firearm involved whites.
- #LGBTQ #youth attempted #suicide four times more often than their #heterosexual peers.
- Since 1993, #suicide by all methods rose to the 10th leading cause from the 14th leading cause of death for 5- to 11-year-old among #Black #children. (#Blacks died by #suicide less often per capita than other #racial groups, but the rates had been increasing “substantially and persistently” among #Black #adolescents.)
- #Black #teen #males were 1.04 and #Black #teen #females were 1.02 times more likely to attempt #suicide than were #adolescents of other races.
- Roughly 70% of #veteran #suicides involved a #gun. (#Men aged 18 through 34 accounted for 1.2 million and #women of those same ages for 269,000 U.S. #veterans, according to Statista.)
- #Veteran #suicide rates were twice that of non-veterans.
- Among survivors of #suicideattempts, whether by #gun or other methods, 90% did not re-attempt #suicide.
The report results, in part, from a year-long dialogue by representatives of 14 organizations or sectors, including #gunowners and enthusiasts and #suicideprevention experts.
Having a #gun in the household increases the risk of a gun #suicide in that home, wrote the authors who also sought to shatter some myths about #suicide. Chief among that is that persons who died by #suicide also have a diagnosed #mentalillness.
The authors wrote that participants in that year-long dialogue entered the process feeling “caricatured,” regardless of their viewpoints on #guns: “Some in the group were less familiar with guns and expressed their lack of knowledge, while some raised the ways #gunownership has been viewed through a racialized lens and how all #gun owners don’t receive the same deference and good faith assumptions. Others made clear [that] labels like ‘#guncontrol’ and ‘weapons of war’ and even ‘common sense solutions’ can be off-putting and the importance of addressing people on terms that resonate for them.”
The report spotlights several organizations that are addressing #gun-#suicideprevention, including Gun Shop Project, Celebrating Life #Suicide Surveillance System of the White Apache tribe, Center for #Gun Rights & Responsibility and Counseling on Access to Lethal Means.
A partnership between the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the #AmericanFoundationforSuicidePrevention, two organizations participating in the year-long dialogue, has been developing language for public awareness efforts that is designed specifically for gun-owning #parents about #teen #suicideprevention and how to lock up their firearms.
Betz called Convergence’s dialogue itself innovative, “recognizing,” she said, “that nobody wants to lose a #child, nobody wants to lose a family member or a loved one.”
JJIE editor Katti Gray contributed to this report.
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
