WHEREAS, suicide is the 10th leading cause of all deaths in the United States; (1) and the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10-24; and

WHEREAS, Veteran suicide rate averages 22 every day or over 10 times the number of deaths in combat operations in the same time period, (2) and

WHEREAS, over 50% of people who die by suicide use a firearm, (3) and guns stored in the house are used for suicide 40 times more often than for self-protection; (4) and

WHEREAS, Curry County ranks 1st in the state in total veterans who commit suicide (5),

WHEREAS, according to the 2014 Oregon Student Wellness Survey as applied to Curry County, 7.7% of 6th graders, 16.8% of 8th graders, and 26.0% of 11th graders seriously consider attempting suicide during the 12 months before the survey(6), and

WHEREAS, the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide works against suicide prevention by discouraging persons at risk for suicide from seeking lifesaving help and further traumatizes survivors of suicide;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Curry County Commissioners hereby proclaims September, 2015 as

AND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:

To encourage schools, students, parents, health care workers, religious institutions, and community organizations to engage in a variety of awareness and prevention activities designed to remove the stigma around suicide.

DATED this ___ day of September, 2015.

BOARD OF CURRY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Susan Brown, Chair

Tom Huxley, Vice Chair

David Brock Smith, Commissioner

Approved as to Form:

M. Gerard Herbage
Curry County Legal Counsel