A Proclamation on World Suicide Prevention Day, 2024

 Too many Americans have lost their lives to suicide.  Last year, nearly 50,000 Americans died by suicide, and in 2022, over 10 million seriously considered suicide.  In 2022, suicide was the second leading cause of death for young people aged 10 to 14 and 25 to 34, and the suicide rate for veterans was 50 percent higher than for anyone else.  Suicide is also a leading cause of maternal death.  Though there is no single cause or solution for suicide, we know that access to treatment and support can save lives.  However, getting care in a crisis can be hard to access or afford.  In 2021, less than half of all adults with mental illness received the care they needed.  And nearly 70 percent of children who seek mental health care cannot find it.

A key part of my Unity Agenda is to connect more Americans to affordable, quality mental health care and strengthen our mental health care system — which will help address many of the risk factors associated with suicide.  My Administration issued a rule that requires insurers to cover mental health care just as they do physical health care, and to make changes if required analyses show that health insurers are providing insufficient access to mental health care — an important step in ensuring people can get the mental health care they need.  My American Rescue Plan provided over $12 billion to expand mental health and substance use services through States, communities, and schools.  And when we passed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years, we expanded the number of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics paid for under Medicaid, which deliver mental health treatment, including crisis care 24 hours a day to communities across the country.  That law also delivered funding to put more psychologists and counselors in schools, and my Administration has made it easier for schools to use Medicaid to deliver mental health services — helping ease the youth mental health crisis and ensuring that our children can go on to live long, healthy lives.  Further, I signed into law expansions to counseling, benefits, and mental health resources for law enforcement and first responders who have faced trauma at work.  Earlier this year, my Administration released a new National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and Federal Action Plan which includes over 200 actions that will strengthen suicide prevention programs across the Nation, including those designed to reach our most vulnerable.

I have always said that we have a sacred obligation to care for our Nation’s veterans and their families — and that means making sure they have access to the care they need to thrive.  To help keep that promise, my Administration invested in mental health and suicide prevention efforts for our service members and veterans.  We have expanded access to confidential treatment and are working to hire more mental health professionals, removing cost-sharing for the first three mental health visits, and investing in hiring more veterans to help their peers get the mental health care they need.  And we are working to ensure that every veteran has a roof over their head — including by increasing access to permanent supportive housing for veterans and their families. 

A Proclamation on World Suicide Prevention Day, 2024 | The White House