[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13] [Senate] [Pages 17955-17956] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]NATIONAL SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE DAY Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, each November we set aside a day of healing for those who have lost someone to suicide. I rise today to again recognize Saturday, November 20 as National Survivors of Suicide Day. In 1999, a Senate resolution created this annual event through the efforts of Senator Harry Reid who lost his father to suicide. This year, on November 20, over 270 conferences will take place in the U.S. and around the world to allow survivors of suicide the opportunity to connect with others who have experienced the tragedy of suicide loss and to allow for healing interactions. The importance of this day is amplified by the shocking statistics on suicide--suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. Nationwide, approximately 90 lives are lost to suicide each day and over 34,000 die by suicide each year. Suicide is truly an epidemic that devastates thousands of families in the United States each year. In my State of South Dakota, one suicide occurs every 3 to 4 days and 107 lives are lost each year. These statistics place South Dakota among a group of Western States that consistently has a higher rate of suicide than the rest of the country. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among all South Dakotans and is the second leading cause [[Page 17956]] of death of South Dakotans between the ages of 15-34. Suicide among American Indians in South Dakota is of particular concern--the suicide rate for American Indians ages 15-34 is more than three times higher than the national average and the suicide rate for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is the highest in the world. Last year, 16-year-old Dana Lee Jetty, a tribal member from the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation in North Dakota, who lost her 14-year-old sister to suicide spoke before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs: We need to make sure that our communities and our people know how to reach out for help if they need it and we need to make sure that the help is there when they ask. We must take Ms. Jetty's words to heart and provide tribes with the resources they need to implement effective suicide prevention programs. It is critical to strengthen the social fabric to help improve mental health with effective and culturally sensitive prevention programs. It is necessary to expand access to mental health services nationwide, including a focus on education, prevention and intervention. Furthermore, we need to acknowledge the obstacles that suicide survivors face during their grieving and encourage the involvement of survivors in healing activities and prevention programs. I believe with appropriate support and treatment, suicide survivors can lead effective advocacy efforts to reduce the incidence of suicide and find healing themselves. The loss of so many lives to suicide is truly a crisis, and it is imperative to provide support for all those left behind. It is my hope that National Suicide Survivors Day will promote the broad based support that each survivor deserves and increase awareness of the need for greater efforts in addressing the root causes of suicide in Indian Country and throughout the Nation. ____________________