February
7 2007 SACRAMENTO - Assemblymember
Mary Hayashi
(D-Hayward) today announced her plans to introduce a bill in the Assembly that
would create the Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) under the Department of
Mental Health. Modeled after the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, OSP
would devise a comprehensive and integrated approach to reducing the loss and
suffering from suicide and suicidal behaviors on a statewide basis. “Whenever we witness, hear or read about a Californian who died by suicide, we should realize our mental health system has failed him or her,” stated Assemblymember Hayashi. “Each year California reports more than 3,000 deaths caused by suicide; and attempts reach into the tens of thousands. To put this into perspective, we have more people who die from suicide in California annually than the number of individuals who lost their lives in the 2001 terrorist attacks. As a state, we are long overdue in providing the necessary resources to address this critical element of health care.”
Once enacted, OSP would establish an advisory committee of mental health professionals to conduct a comprehensive analysis to determine existing resources and best practices now available to prevent suicides. It would also identify populations of concern by collecting and disseminating information compiled from the Department of Vital Statistics and other sources regarding suicide deaths including, but not limited to, the manner and means of death, age, race/ethnicity, city of residence. Another important function of the office would be to develop prevention training standards with an emphasis on underserved communities and cultural competency.
“Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among teens and young adults between the ages of 15 to 24 and the sixth leading cause of death for 5 to14 year-olds,” Hayashi added. “The statistics are more alarming for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. They are up to five times more likely to die from suicide than heterosexual youth. Since there is no single intervention or approach that will adequately solve the problem of suicide, our strategy must be multifaceted.”
Currently, California does not have a state agency that coordinates suicide prevention efforts. OSP would serve in that role by working with community health care partners to research and develop successful prevention strategies. Additionally, it would report the extent of the problem and the effectiveness of various prevention measures it advocates for periodically to the legislature and the public.
Hayashi serves the 18th Assembly District, which includes San Leandro, Hayward, Dublin, most of Castro Valley and Pleasanton, and a portion of Oakland, as well as the unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland and San Lorenzo.