Monday, August 25, 2008
MEDIA ADVISORY
National Suicide Prevention Week
Kick-Off Howard University September 6, 2008
Contact: Gina Smallwood
202-340-2009
Howard University, Washington, DC—September 6, 2008. The National Organization of People of Color Against Suicide (NOPCAS) will announce the Kelvin Mikhail Suicide Awareness Campaign at Howard University’s First 2008 Football Game on Saturday, September 6, 2008, 1:00 PM at Green Stadium –Howard University Campus off of 6th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C.
Suicide prevention is a national public health priority. Nationally, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for college students, the 3rd leading cause of death for black males ages 15-24, and the 4th leading cause of death for black males ages 10-14. Every 100 minutes a youth in the United States is a victim of suicide. Media outreach kits, used as a community resource tool, available at this event, have been created for dissemination to all of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
NOPCAS is committed to reduce the stigma, fear, and shame that may prevent people of color from reaching out for help during times of emotional distress or suicidal crisis. For more information visit www.NOPCAS.org.
The kickoff will raise awareness to the African American community about the high rate of black male youth suicides, some of the national statistics on youth suicide, the suicide warning signs, and the available resources for mental health services.
Campaign Chair, Gina Smallwood, who lost her only child—Kelvin Mikhail, Morehouse College Sophomore— this year to suicide, says, “As a mother, I was not aware that we need to discuss suicide as a safety issue regularly, especially as a mother of a young African American male. I did not know that it was a ‘silent killer’.” Smallwood is committed to efforts to reduce the high rate of teen suicide, especially among African American males through her outreach on college campuses, churches and communities nationally.
The Kelvin Mikhail Suicide Awareness Campaign is part of a larger effort to increase public awareness of and participation in National Suicide Prevention Week, September 7-13 at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This campaign will also bring awareness to the Surgeon General’s National Strategy that promotes public education on suicide as a national public health issue that is preventable; implement training for recognition of at-risk behavior and delivery of effective treatment and improve access to community resources with mental health and abuse services. For more information about the campaign visit www.kelvin-mikhail.info .
As part of a national effort to reduce youth suicide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has also created a public awareness education campaign.
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