World Suicide Prevention Day, 2024

Proclamation 10806 of September 9, 2024

World Suicide Prevention Day, 2024

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On World Suicide Prevention Day, we honor the memories
of all those lost to suicide, hold the loved ones
grieving their memories close to our hearts, and
recognize the many professionals working to end this
public health problem.

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.

If you or a loved one are struggling, please know that
you are not alone. My Administration launched 988, the
National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to quickly connect
people with the support they need. Call or text 988 to
reach a trained crisis counselor for free, confidential
support right away. We also established the National
Maternal Mental Health Hotline for new and expectant
mothers. Call 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) for help
navigating mental health issues like postpartum
depression and anxiety before, during, or after
pregnancy. For non-crisis support or to find help for
mental health and substance use, visit FindSupport.gov
or call 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357).

During World Suicide Prevention Day, we recommit to
improving suicide prevention programs and putting
affordable, accessible mental health care within reach
of communities across our Nation--for all the lives we
have lost and all those we can still save.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 10,
2024, as World Suicide Prevention Day. I call upon all
Americans, communities, organizations, and levels of
government to join me in creating hope through action
and committing to preventing suicide across America.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.