By Dr. Jerry Reed,
Senior Vice President for Practice Leadership, Education Development Center, and
Executive Committee Member, National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
As the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., suicide claims more than 48,000 American lives each year. This preventable public health issue touches all of us, and we all have a role to play.
Just as suicide is not explained by any single cause, we also know that there is no single solution to preventing suicide—and no one organization, either public or private, can effectively address this issue on its own. Our nation needs a collaborative approach to suicide prevention in order to better support those who are in crisis, their friends, and loved ones. This approach will also help to safeguard future generations, and to shine a light on the hope and resiliency around this issue. Suicide is preventable and not inevitable!
As an Executive Committee member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance)—the nation’s public-private partnership dedicated to advancing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention—I am working alongside diverse leaders to make suicide prevention a national priority. The Action Alliance convenes national experts on suicide prevention and diverse leaders in business, education, entertainment, faith, government, philanthropy, health systems, public safety, sports, technology, and tribal communities who understand that it is going to take the efforts and expertise of all sectors of society to turn the tide of suicide in the U.S.
When both the public and private sectors come together to collaborate and move the needle on a critical issue, like suicide, we all benefit.