Brody's Notes... Washington State Youth Suicide Prevention Fund To Be Cut-Off

Staff Reports

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- The Seattle Gay News is reporting that Washington officials are considering defunding the state's Youth Suicide Prevention Program, (YSPP). According to the paper:

Each week in Washington state, an average of two young people die by suicide and another 17 suicide attempts result in hospitalization. And yet, according to Vicki Wagner, executive director for Washington state's Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP), our state government is proposing to cut off all funding to the organization.

'Over the years, Washington state has gradually decreased YSPP funding from an original $500,000 a year to only $116,000,' said Wagner. 'In spite of this reduction, YSPP has continued to provide critical youth suicide prevention efforts statewide. But now, our state government is proposing cutting our funding to zero.'

Shaun Knittel SGN's Associate Editor writes:

"If you are outraged by this news, you are not alone. To think that funding would be cut to a statewide organization dedicated to saving the lives of youth seems unbelievable. But the threat is real, even though we know that more than one in every 10 Washington state high school students reported having attempted suicide, nearly one in four (20%-25%) have seriously considered it, over 30% of LGBTQ youth report at least one suicide attempt within the last year, over 50% of Transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday, and youth suicides outnumber youth homicides."

He closed with the following plea imploring the paper's readership to assist in the efforts to prevent the programme funds from being cut:

"Over the past year, Seattle Gay News, has been heavily involved in raising money for YSPP. The LGBT community has a responsibility to protect our youth from suicide. OUTLoud and YSPP are the professionals making the biggest impact. Please tell the state not to cut funding for suicide prevention so that more young people who just want their pain to stop do not die by suicide."