COMMENTARY

Preventing Suicide

By ROBERT M. FRIEDMAN

Published: May 10, 2007

At the University of South Florida's Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, we are very concerned about the serious problem of suicide. In 2004, death by suicide was the ninth leading cause of death for all ages in Florida. Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Florida had the third highest number of deaths by suicide per state with 2,389 in 2004. That's equivalent to losing nearly four Boeing 737s filled with people every three months for a year.

We would like to correct several misleading statements about our work in suicide prevention made by Ken Kramer of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida in The Tribune on May 7.

With the approval of the Legislature and the governor, we will be given an allocation of funds to develop a statewide suicide prevention implementation plan.

The plan would not be restricted to children but would address the needs of individuals ranging up to the elderly. The specific suicide prevention activities are certainly not yet determined but are likely to be quite varied as well.

This is not an effort to promote any single program. Rather, if the plan is funded, we would work with experts and individuals in planning. Resources would be used to assist communities in implementing suicide prevention approaches that make sense for them.

There is hardly a person in Florida who has not been touched by this heartbreaking problem in one way or another. We would indeed be honored to be provided with an opportunity to work with caring people throughout the state on preventing its occurrence.

Robert M. Friedman, Ph.D., is a professor and interim dean at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida.