Youth Suicides Rise After Years of Declining Rates

Antidepressant warnings may be the cause

After a generation of declining youth suicide rates in the United States, a sharp increase in the number of young people taking their own lives has captured the nation’s attention and concern.

New research shows that suicide rates for American youth rose significantly between 2003 and 2004, a troubling U-turn after a steady drop in suicides since the early 1990s. The release last month of two studies based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal a possible link between the spike in youth suicides and the release of government warnings about a potential increased risk of suicidal thoughts among young people who take antidepressant medications.

Youth Suicide continued...

Capitol Hill Update

Parity success requires sustained advocacy; SCHIP, Medicare need grassroots support

Congress is entering the home stretch of this year’s legislative session, and your help is needed to achieve the mental health movement’s priorities. The advocacy of Mental Health America affiliates and thousands of individuals throughout the country have helped fuel the success of many recent mental health-related issues in Congress. Your action is especially needed now because, as the session winds down, early gains could be overtaken by competing priorities. Be sure to join Mental Health America’s online Advocacy Network at http://takeaction.mentalhealthamerica.net to learn how you can get involved, contact Congress on key
issues and sign our Vision for Change petition.

Parity Wins Unanimous Senate Vote

Advocates across the nation are celebrating the unanimous Sept. 18 Senate passage of the “Mental Health Parity Act of 2007,” S. 558, which would close the legal loopholes that deny most Americans equal coverage for mental and physical disorders. Simply getting that bill to the floor was a long haul! Late this summer, advocacy organizations, business groups and others came to an agreement on the provisions of the bill, introduced by Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.

Capitol Hill continued...