Gordon Introduces Bill To Prevent Teen Suicide

May 26, 2007, WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon has introduced legislation designed to help communities get the resources they need to fight teen suicide.

“Suicide is the third leading cause of death for Tennesseans between the ages of 10 and 24,” said Gordon. “In 2005, 92 young people in our state committed suicide. If we can do more to save lives and prevent these tragedies, we certainly should.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 3,665 American high school students attempted suicide in 2005, and nearly 17 percent of all high school students considered suicide.

Gordon’s bill, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, was first signed into law in 2004 and is named after the late son of U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon. This year’s bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Danny Davis of Illinois and Greg Walden of Oregon.

The bill would re-authorize grants for states to develop youth suicide prevention programs. After receiving the grants, states would then be required to distribute at least 85 percent of the funding to school systems, juvenile justice systems, local government and non-profit organizations that focus on suicide prevention and intervention.

Gordon said his motivation for introducing the bill was Clark Flatt, a Hendersonville resident who lost his 16-year-old son to suicide. Through that tragedy, Flatt founded the Jason Foundation, one of the nation’s leading teen suicide awareness and prevention programs.

“In addition to providing much-needed funding to energize state suicide prevention programs, this bill brings awareness to youth suicide,” said Flatt. “That awareness is the first step to prevention.”

Gordon added, “Clark used his tragic experience to help other teens cope with the challenges they fact. The Jason Foundation is a great organization, and we need to make sure it and similar organizations have the support and resources they need to fight suicide.”

Tennessee Lives Count, an initiative that offers training sessions to promote awareness of youth suicide, is one such program to benefit from the funding in Gordon’s earlier bill. In its first year, the program provided training to 500 individuals and displayed suicide awareness exhibits at 18 different venues.

For more information on the Jason Foundation, contact 1-888-881-2323 or visit www.jasonfoundation.com. For information on the Tennessee Lives Count project, contact the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Networks’ central office at (615) 297-1077 or visit www.tspn.org.