U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, whose son Tommy died by suicide, joined U.S. Rep Don Bacon of Nebraska Thursday to introduce the Stabilization to Prevent (STOP) Suicide Act.
Introduced during National Suicide Prevention Month, the grant program increases access to care for people with serious thoughts of suicide. It also is designed to alleviate pressure on emergency departments and law enforcement.
According to a news release from Raskin, stabilization services “can help patients reduce or eliminate imminent suicide risk and manage dangerous impulses, keeping them safe while relieving pressure on law enforcement and emergency rooms.”
The proposed legislation will create a new grant program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to expand access to effective and timely outpatient and virtual stabilization care and treatment.
The five-page bill calls for an allocation of $30 million for each of Fiscal Years 2025 through 2029.
“America is plagued by a mental health epidemic, and too many families have experienced the anguish of losing a loved one to mental illness and suicide,” Raskin said.
“The STOP Suicide Act will provide relief to Americans suffering from serious thoughts of suicide and crucial new support for the health care professionals who treat them, infusing resources into stabilization and crisis care services.”
Added Bacon, “People experiencing serious thoughts of suicide often find themselves without support and timely treatment.” He noted that the bill provides “an important tool that will help create needed programs to deliver outpatient or telehealth stabilization services. ”
According to Laurel Stine, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “Suicide is an urgent public health issue, with nearly 50,000 lives lost to suicide and 13.2 million people reporting seriously considering suicide in the United States in 2022.”
She praised the legislation for its effort to connect people in mental crisis to support systems “quickly and safely.”
According to Raskin, the legislation is endorsed by a broad-based coalition of mental health and suicide prevention advocacy organizations, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, American Psychological Association Services, the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), the Children’s Hospital Association, EveryMind, The Hope Institute of America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, the National League for Nursing, Sheppard Pratt, Trust for America’s Health and Vibrant Emotional Health.
