Suicide prevention will be the main focus of Mental Wellness Day events on Tuesday at Cal State Long Beach.
“Suicide is the second leading [cause of] death for college students age 18 to 34,” said David Sanfilippo, the director of Disabled Student Services.
To combat this problem, Mental Wellness Day will feature an expert panel focusing on how to identify whether a person may be contemplating suicide and where depression sufferers can seek help.
Paul Bressman, chair of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Los Angeles chapter, will be the keynote speaker at the events set to be held at The Pointe in the Walter Pyramid from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Bressman will present a video featuring cases of college students who have attempted or committed suicide.
Question, Persuade and Refer training, instructed by certified QPR trainer Lethia Cobbs, will also be offered during the events. QPR training instructs participants on how to help a potentially suicidal person. With these three steps, individuals may be able to prevent a person from committing suicide.
Between 2000 and 2006, assault and suicide attempt rates were highest among 15- to 24-year-olds, and 59 percent of suicide hospitalizations were among females, according to the 2008 Los Angeles County Injury Hospitalization Report.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 32,000 suicides in the United States in 2005, which comes out to at least 88 suicides per day — or one suicide every 16 minutes. The CDC also reports that suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds and the second among 25- to 34-year olds.
Mental Wellness Day is organized by Associated Students Inc., Counseling and Psychological Services, Disabled Student Services, Student Services and Project Ocean — a program that focuses on preventing suicides on college campuses.
Sanfilippo said there are approximately 200 students with psychological disabilities on campus. Among them, he said, students who are bipolar are at a high risk of committing suicide.
Understanding the connection between suicide and disability awareness is important, said Vickki Williams, assistant secretary of disability affairs.
“[S]uicide can result in an individual becoming disabled,” Williams said in an e-mail. “[I]ndividuals who are disabled may consider the act due to depression in regards of dealing with their disposition.”
Williams added that suicide may be considered a mental issue, or an invisible disability, and if not addressed could result in an affected person’s being “locked up in a mental ward” if they are considered suicidal.
Deaka McClain, secretary for Disability Affairs and presidential aide at ASI, said those who helped organize Mental Wellness Day are very excited about the upcoming events and feel that it is important to raise awareness and to help educate people on campus.
“As the representative for ASI, as the secretary for disability affairs, I am very proud to be a part of this event,” McClain said. “I feel that it is very important to help bring awareness and knowledge to the campus about the needs of the disabled population.”
Approximately 100 people are expected to attend the events.
The update version of this story was posted at 10:51 p.m. on March 23
I attended this event and am so thankful. A few hours later I confronted a friend of mine that I have been concerned about for a while. Using QPR, he’s now getting the help he needs. Words really cannot express how thankful I am for attending.
I sincerely pray the 100 people expected to attend don’t bring their own cyanide capsules.