While Colorado’s average suicide rate has declined by 6.5% in the past decade, our state still has the 6th highest suicide rate in the nation. In 2007, more lives were lost to suicide in Colorado – 805 – than in motor vehicle accidents or from illnesses such as diabetes, pneumonia or breast cancer. And, sadly, suicide remains the second leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults in Colorado. The impact of lives lost is a social, emotional and economic burden for our state and its residents, and the loss of lives is preventable.

Released at a community briefing today, Preventing Suicide in Colorado – Progress Achieved & Goals for the Future was issued jointly by Mental Health America of Colorado and The Colorado Trust. The report updates both the state’s 1998 Suicide Prevention and Intervention Plan to address Colorado’s historically high suicide rate, as well as The Trust’s 2002 report Suicide in Colorado, which documented the problem of suicide across the state and identified suicide-prevention resources. This report details key facts and figures about the suicide rate in Colorado, many of the prevention achievements in the past 10 years, and recommendations to strengthen suicide prevention and awareness efforts into the future.