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Help Promote Hope

Each year over two thousand of Florida’s citizens take their own lives. This number is more than twice the number of people murdered and significantly higher than the number of HIV related deaths. Florida ranks third in the nation for the highest number of suicide fatalities and has the 18th highest suicide rate. Suicide is the state’s 9th leading cause of death.

Suicide is a multifaceted public health problem requiring attention from an entire community to ensure that the protection and welfare of its citizens is a priority. People suffering in silence and losing hope in their future is a tragedy we can curtail by implementing comprehensive approaches at all stages of the life cycle. It is imperative that we improve the quality of life for Floridians by promoting a culture that restores hope, fosters help-seeking behaviors, and builds resilience and connectedness among communities, families and individuals in order to create a strong foundation from which people can successfully face life stress.

Passage by the Florida Legislature of a bill creating an Office of Suicide Prevention presents a unique opportunity to bring powerful suicide prevention messaging to state stakeholders, policy makers and influencers. Creation of this office underscores the significant commitment of Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Legislature to address suicide as a preventable public health threat. The Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention is tasked with developing and implementing a statewide plan to reduce Florida’s suicide rate. The Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council, whose role is to advise the Office, has proposed numerous initiatives aimed at various stakeholders. This centralized structure is necessary to integrate a statewide effort and provide a unified direction, but the opportunity to transform lives depends on empowerment at the local level.

This Web site is designed to be used by the Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council, school personnel, state agencies, community members, faith-based organizations, employers and others as a resource for suicide prevention.

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