WEBVTT
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Welcome back to Everything Is Public Health.
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We are back for season eight.
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I'm MJ.
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And I'm Cass.
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I say season eight, but the seasons are sort of decided arbitrarily.
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Um but the important thing is we are back.
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How many years have we been doing this?
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I think is a more important question.
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Yes, I believe four.
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July 2021?
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Oh, five.
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It's been oh my god, it's been five years.
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Five plus.
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Five plus years with eight-ish seasons, however they choose to identify themselves.
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Yes.
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I know we've talked about this before, but when you were like, hey Cass, do you want to do a podcast on public health?
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I was like, sure, this'll probably go a couple of episodes and then fizzle out.
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And it's just so much fun.
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I know.
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It has been such a blast.
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We've had busy summers and we needed to take a little bit of time off, but I'm very, very excited to be back.
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Yes, as am I.
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If this was a child, next year it would be first grade.
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Oh no.
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Six, right?
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Oh, you mean you mean years.
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I was thinking seasons.
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I was like, no, nine is eighth grade.
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But yeah, I guess it depends on how we age a podcast.
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We'll say kindergarten.
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But yes, we are back and we are very excited to be back.
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We are going to return to a classic public health concept called the built environment.
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And I think we talked about this before.
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We have, yeah.
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The built environment just means features of the environment that we humans make, not like, you know, rivers, streams, mountains, but breakaway streetlights, walkability of neighborhoods, traffic features, lead paint, sort of in products that we are moving around in, like how we as humans move through space and how the space that we build impacts our health and well-being.
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Yeah, it's a very important topic in public health and in some way very inspiring because that means if our built environment can affect us and we are the ones building said built environment, we can then make choices to build our environment in a way that promotes public health.
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So it's that's a very positive framing.
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Obviously, the negative framing is why haven't we built our environment that promotes public health?
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But you know, this is the first episode.
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We're gonna be positive.
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Capitalism.
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The common enemy.
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Today's topic has to do with another important public health topic, which is suicide prevention.
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We mentioned suicides at least indirectly before, probably in the context of gun violence.
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For example, Cass, what is the leading method of suicide fatality in this country?
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Firearms.
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So more than half of all suicides in the US involve a firearm.
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Interestingly, only about 6% of suicide attempts overall involve a firearm, but because 90% of suicide attempts with a firearm end up in a fatality, they represent more than half of all suicide deaths.
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Yes, a very lethal means of hurting someone, other people, or yourself.
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That's why when we're talking about reducing gun violence, we're not just referring to homicide, although homicide gets all the headlines oftentimes.
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Uh one side of suicide that researchers have identified is how many of them, but not all, suicides were due to moments of crisis, meaning that it's a particular night when an individual is either really depressed or maybe a few things happened during the day that triggered a moment of crisis.
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And the crisis, I guess for a lack of a better term, spurred an attempt.
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Yeah.
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So there's a lot of discussion around differences between suicidal ideations, suicidal behaviors, and suicide attempts.
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And as you said, there can be some moment of crisis that may prompt an attempt, but individuals may have made a plan.
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So an important piece of suicide prevention is addressing the mechanisms that people might use in a moment of crisis so that a momentary impulsive decision doesn't turn lethal.
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So we might think about storing firearms locked up in a safe separate from ammunition.
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So the time it would take to access a firearm, access the ammunition, that might be a sufficient amount of time either for someone to intervene or for that moment of crisis to pass.
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There's a common misperception that suicides are inevitable, that someone is going to die no matter what.
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But the research doesn't bear that out in two ways.
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One, most people who survive a suicide attempt don't go on to die from suicide.
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90% of people who survive go on to die from some other thing later in life.
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And we also know that when you restrict access to lethal means, people usually do not opt into other mechanisms.
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So if you cannot gain access to what you had planned, people often won't attempt and that can save a life.
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So some other examples, making sure access to a roof is restricted for a tall building, making sure that there are breakers in electrical outlets in bathrooms so that if you throw an electronic device into a tub, it's not going to short out.
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Having prescriptions and lower quantities available for strong medications and not having them over the counter.
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Yeah, it's about adding those barriers so that you delay the time.
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And obviously, you know, you can think of, well, what I need is an extension cord from the other room, but it takes time for you to go grab an extension cord.
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Also, not everyone have an extension cord, which I found out myself two weeks ago.
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Adding those barriers is a key part of this conversation.
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And one of those barriers could be physical in the built environment.
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For example, adding barriers to locations where people may attempt to leap from, like bridges.
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Bridges is a common location of suicide attempts.
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We'll delve into this in a little bit, but I want to bring up another point.
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When discussing public health topics or any big topics like politics or climate, there's a tendency for the media and the general public to be hyper-focused on a few very salient topics within that area.
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For example, with suicide, the salient topics are mental health, obviously, and firearms.
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This is completely logical.
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Firearms are a necessary part of the conversation when talking about suicides.
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However, given how our current media landscape is so clickbaity and polarizing, it's all about shock and the 24-hour news cycle.
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We talked about this before.
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Those salient topics can sometimes dominate the entire discourse.
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For instance, yes, we can talk about suicides without talking about firearms, but we shouldn't just talk about firearms when we talk about suicide prevention.
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Like, am I making sense?
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Oh, absolutely.
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So my focus area is on firearms.
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We have many colleagues in our center who work on suicide prevention and firearms suicide prevention specifically, safe storage, et cetera.
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But the field broadly talks about a thing called lethal means safety counseling or lethal means restrictions.
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And this is really about recognizing there are a range of mechanisms that people might use to harm themselves.
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And it's important to have conversations about restricting access to the variety of means that people may use.
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We know that men tend to opt into firearms and women generally tend to opt into cutting or pills for overdose, but that's not a hard and fast rule.
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So making sure that individuals are having conversations about the range of lethal means that are available, it's really important.
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As I said, yes, firearms are more than 50% of suicide fatalities in the US, but that means that about 45% of suicides are caused from other mechanisms.
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And public health is about tackling problems from multiple angles.
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We don't just have to focus on one thing when it comes to suicide prevention.
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We could do multiple things at once.
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This isn't a multiple choice exam.
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We could pick multiple solutions simultaneously and don't ever buy into the idea.
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It's like, no, no, no, until we do this, we can't do this other thing.
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It's like we could do multiple things at once.
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There's no order to this, you know.
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Ideally, all of this should happen, right?
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Well, and that's quintessential public health.
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We try to intervene in as many places as possible with as many strategies as possible because no one thing is going to solve the problem.
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No one thing causes the problem.
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So it's illogical and impossible that one thing could be the solution.
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It's really important when we're thinking about solving a problem, a complex problem from a public health perspective, that we are taking a multifaceted approach.
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Yes.
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So this episode is going to be a little bit unorthodox.
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I had the opportunity to interview Laurel Stein, the chief advocacy and policy officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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The rest of this episode will be an interview that I had with her.
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We will discuss, for once, some good news in this podcast: a bipartisan build about changing the built environment to reduce fatal suicide attempts.
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All right, like with all interview, go ahead and introduce yourself.
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Yes.
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Hello, my name is Laurel Stein.
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I am the executive vice president and chief policy and advocacy officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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And what that essentially is, I provide strategic leadership and manage the Washington, D.C.
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based policy and advocacy team.
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We work on federal, state, and local level advocacy.
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And I have a team of seven wonderful policy professionals.
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Always good to have a team.
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Let's give a little bit of context, uh, just to sort of frame our discussion.
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How do US suicide rates compare with peer nations?
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Like, is it more concerning or less concerning than comparable countries?
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You know, that's a very good question.
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And I would like to answer it in this way.
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First of all, we know that the 2024 data from the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention has come out.
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And suicide in the US is the 10th leading cause of death.
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That is startling.
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That is drastic.
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That is a public health crisis with 48,824 suicide-related deaths.
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Now, that has been down 1% from 2023.
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And also the rate, 13.7 rate per 100,000 population, is also down, which is 22% down.
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However, suicide being the 10th leading cause of death in the United States is concerning.
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And we know that the US has relatively high rates of suicide, as I said, but we have not really experienced the same sustained declines that we've seen other higher income countries have achieved.
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And I think, you know, US is a standout because suicide remains a major and persistent public health challenge.
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Whereas other countries really have done more to reduce root suicide rates by implementing comprehensive prevention strategies.
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You said the CDC data was from 2024.
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Has the current administration impeded that data collection in any way?
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This is just something that came up because they're doing a lot of uh defunding, shall we say?
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So do you have concerns about further years of data upcoming?
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Not at this time.
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The data, you know, came out.
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It may have been slightly delayed, but most of the concerns with the administration and the delays had largely been due to staffing cuts and some of the programmatic.
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But right now, the data is there, it's clear, and we consistently, AFSP, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, consistently relies on that.
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Not only do we do on our website, you'll see under AFSP.org slash statistics, we have the data synthesized that will remark on the 10th leading cause of deaths, but we also have state fact sheets.
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So you can go to each of the states and learn where their ranking is and other helpful demographic information impacting suicide for that population in that state.
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I feel like if you're not in the field of public health or mental health, you often can view suicide as like, oh, this is a very individualistic act.
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This person decided to take whatever steps.
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But there are actually, as you and I both know, there's a lot of like structural things that we can change, like broader policy solutions that we could do.
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So, like, what are some examples of these policy solutions that may seem very far removed from individual actions that we can put in place and actually, you know, tackle suicide as a problem?
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I really love this question.
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And you know why I love it so much?
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Because AFSP prides itself on recognizing that suicide is a public health problem.
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And at AFSP, we also approach our suicide prevention work, whether it's through policy, advocacy, educational programs, or communications or research in a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention.
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So, yes, one of the biggest misconceptions about suicide is that it's solely an individual or even a mental health issue.
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But suicide, as I said, is a public health crisis and a public health issue, and that risk is shaped by factors like economic stress, social isolation, lack of belongingness, access to care, substance use, discrimination, exposure to trauma, access to lethal means, all of these.
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And we also know on the good side, because as a policy and advocacy chief at AFSP, we know that policies can influence all of those outcomes.
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And as a comprehensive approach to suicide, we know that we take a multifaceted approach to public health, the framework.
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So we are operating under the understanding that there's really no single strategy that can prevent suicide, right?
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It requires really a combination of strategies across multiple levels from broad society, societal policies like income security, food security, community programs, as well as those really targeted evidence-based clinical interventions like suicide-specific care, as well as lethal means safety, like secure storage for firearms, lock boxes, which will create time and distance between an individual in acute and intense crisis.
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So those are some of the things that we know.
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And I'm so welcomed by that question because it's really fundamentally having this public awareness that suicide is a public health problem, and that a comprehensive public health approach is what's needed in order to really help to fight suicide.
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It's complex and there's really no single-set strategy.
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We talked about the firearm side of things because that's again, it's such a lethal means, so it's a leading cause of death.
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What's another policy example that you can think of that can intervene on suicide rates?
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Really, the strongest evidence-based approaches is reducing that access to lethal means during that period of crisis.
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But most suicidal crises are temporary.
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So one of the policy issues that we are championing through bipartisan legislation.
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In fact, just in this May of 2026, we held our advocacy forum where we bring in over 200 volunteer advocates from across the country.
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They come to Washington, D.C., we provide educational programs, and then they have a day on the hill.
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And so one of the issues that we advocated for was the Barriers to Suicide Act.
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And this legislation is really a fine example of what I was saying earlier about public health in action.
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Essentially, the legislation would support the installation of evidence-based suicide deterrent barriers and other kinds of safety measures at bridges and other structures.
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And we know that this has become suicide hotspots, for example, and that physical barriers are among the most effective and well-studied suicide prevention interventions.
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And I kind of liken it to, you know, we design roads and buildings and even products with safety in mind, right?
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And suicide prevention barriers really apply that same public health approach, a principle to locations where lives are at risk.
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What was the background and context for this bill?
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Like what led the organization to push for this legislation?
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Yes, unfortunately, that there's been some real tragedies on bridges.
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You've probably heard seen in the news from the Golden Gate Bridge to other bridges and other structures.
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So we know that data exists.
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We know that there's a plethora of research demonstrating the effectiveness of these safety measures.
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And so now at a national level, we want to scale up and assist with creating, it's a$10 million program.
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It is very modest.
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It's a grant program.
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But nevertheless, it is in furtherance of an issue that is right for change.
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And we need more of these barriers to exist.
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So we're supporting this for that reason.
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And we're so proud of our legislative champions and Congressman Don Bayer in, you know, raising this issue and being just the steadfast champion of the barriers to suicide act.
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It's a modest program, but I really think it's these small steps that we need to take to sort of get to where we are, hopefully, with other levels of intervention as well.
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You said it was bipartisan, which is very rare nowadays, I feel.
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What was the most politically challenging barrier with this?
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Or was this like everyone was on board?
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You know, we are still building up support.
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One of the merits of AFSP is that we do pride ourselves in helping to advance, helping to draft legislation that is bipartisan.
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And the bills that we take to Capitol Hill with our volunteers and those that we roughly champion in the states, but federally, most of them are bipartisan.
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Suicide prevention is a nonpartisan issue.
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It crosses potty lines, it crosses demographics, it impacts everyone.
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And everyone has a role to play in suicide prevention.
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So we are still building up support, and that was one of the reasons why we had our advocates come in town to help build up support.
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And what I mean by that is to make a request of their members of Congress who they serve as constituents, whether in the House or the Senate, and make a request for them to co-sponsor the legislation, meaning signing on as a co-sponsor so it's listed online.
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It's a signal of support for the legislation.
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The legislation is still in committee, although we have some promising signs that some suicide-specific legislation on barriers is likely to be included in some of the surface transportation reauthorization and some of the appropriations bills around that right now as a freestanding bill.
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And that is really an important ask of our lawmakers.
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Not only did we have our volunteers come to Washington, DC in May to talk about that, we also have a campaign, action alert, on our website where anyone, the public, can go to our website in our afsp.org backslash advocacy and go to our action network and write email their take action, I should say, where they will, their message will go directly as a constituent to their two senators and their representative.
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So we welcome anyone to really take action and to support this legislation, to give it the momentum that it deserves in order to advance out of committee, hopefully on the floor and ultimately enact it.
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But we do know that most times in federal legislation, unlike the states, which of course are our laboratories of change and move at a different rate of speed with the enactment of legislation, it takes time.
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And we know that we're not in a sprint, we're in a marathon, and it's being very strategic about this.
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And we're also building up support not only from AFSP, but across our partners.
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So we have a lot of national groups within the mental health liaison group, which is a one of the leading nonprofit mental health coalitions in town.
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So we also are building up support from those national members in order to help build up support.
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From a policy standpoint, whether it's from your personal standpoint or from the organization, what do you think is the biggest gap right now in suicide prevention in the US that needs to be addressed as soon as possible?
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Yes, that's a big lofty question, right?
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And we're here to tackle on these big lofty questions, and that's how we get policy change.
00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:26.880
You know, I just want to reiterate that suicide prevention is a public health responsibility, as I said at the outset, and that we all have a role to play that's gonna require multiple levels of action across individuals, community, clinical, et cetera.
00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:28.960
And so we know that suicide is preventable.
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:34.559
Suicide prevention requires a public health approach, and we also know that policy can save lives, right?
00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:36.720
Those three things are really good takeaways.
00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.960
But with that, I'll say two things.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:58.640
I think implementation of a comprehensive approach, a community-based approach to suicide prevention is what's is a huge barrier, and that we don't have enough sustained investment in and scaling up these best practices, and we know what works.
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.960
We just need the political will and we need that sustained investment.
00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.680
But I think it's the implementation, the comprehensive community-based suicide prevention.
00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:17.200
And one of the things we didn't talk about in 2024, uh, the previous administration released the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, which is a roadmap on suicide prevention.
00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.519
It's a 10-year plan, it's a lot of good data.
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:24.319
It talks about lethal means and also it really focuses on a whole of government approach.
00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:28.720
And that is what we need nationally, a whole of government approach.
00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:32.160
Because, like we said at the onset, comprehensive public health approach.
00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:38.480
So I would say implementation is a big, you know, because the challenge is really not about not having enough evidence.
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:45.279
It really is about the lack of consistent implementation and sustained investments.
00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:58.079
And one other thing I would say, in addition to implementation, I would also say we need to really close the gaps on between the time when we identify someone at risk and how we deliver care.
00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:05.839
I mean, there are long wait times for mental health care, there's a lack of mental health providers, reimbursement issues.
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.440
There's a whole gamut of other issues that comes into play.
00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:17.920
So if I wanted to say the biggest things, I would say implementation, and I would also say that gap between identifying risk and delivering care.
00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:21.039
I don't know how much you can speak on this, and if you can't, I understand.
00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.000
Political will is obviously an important component of this.
00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:29.279
What has been the biggest barrier political will-wise, with suicide prevention?
00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:34.720
We have a lot of champions on suicide prevention, and I said that it's a bipartisan issue.
00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.240
However, there is a scarcity of those champions, you know.
00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:49.839
We want to applaud those champions at the state, federal, local level and that are doing all they can and recognize the public health approach and recognize the comprehensiveness and that suicide prevention is complex.
00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:53.599
Many of these champions also have lost a loved one to suicide.
00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:59.519
So I think the political will is really enabling and encouraging those spokespeople.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:14.000
To speak, to talk across the aisle and to build up support for these federal legislation, such as the barriers to suicide care, that really need more bipartisan support from co-sponsorship.
00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:22.640
So it's been introduced with a Republican and Democrat, but we definitely need more Republicans, in addition to Democrats, co-sponsoring the bill.
00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:27.279
Thank you again to Laurel Stein for the interview.
00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:31.519
And now for the microgood section, because positive action is a cure to doom.
00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:34.160
And honestly, this section is for me too.
00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:38.640
Having to remind myself that a better world is possible if we make it.
00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:46.640
So my micro good is taking whatever unique talent or skill you have and sharing it with people.
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:49.759
I crochet, I think we've talked about this a lot.
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.759
And not only do I oh, have I never mentioned on the podcast that I crochet?
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:54.799
I think I've cut it out.
00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:55.519
Oh, okay.
00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:56.240
Every time.
00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:57.680
But you do love crocheting.
00:22:57.839 --> 00:22:58.799
Anyway, I crochet a lot.
00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:01.599
I crochet everywhere pretty much all of the time.
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:07.039
I enjoy making things, like it keeps my hands busy and it sort of helps me focus on what I'm doing.
00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:13.920
But it brings me a lot of joy to gift someone something, particularly if they're not expecting it, sometimes when they are.
00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:20.720
But I have three crocheted gifts that I will be distributing today and tomorrow, and that makes me really happy.
00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:22.640
Joy as a part of resistance.
00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:24.640
Don't let them make your life miserable.
00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:26.640
So remember to have some joy in your life.
00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.559
Other micro good is vote.
00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:31.519
I believe when this comes out, this will be peak voting season.
00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.839
So go ahead and uh do that.
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:42.000
And then make sure obviously you're registered and make sure that you vote down ballot and make sure that you make an informed decision about uh who you are voting.
00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:43.359
Totally side tangent.
00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:48.880
I just filled out my ballot, but there are some candidates that truly have nothing written about them online.
00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:49.519
Okay.
00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:51.279
So and it's so frustrating.
00:23:51.440 --> 00:24:04.880
So my youngest is now old enough to vote and so voted in the primary, did an impressive amount of research and came to me and said, What do I do about a candidate who doesn't have a website?
00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:08.640
I said, Well, you could Google them, you could et cetera, et cetera.
00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:12.640
Nope, there's no information about this person anywhere at all.
00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:21.200
And I thought, I will tell you what I would do, which is probably not vote for that person because I have no idea what they stand for, what they might do.
00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:29.359
I said, but the best and the sometimes most challenging thing about voting is you make your own best educated guests.
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:38.480
And it was really cool and got a whole bunch of friends who were all eligible to vote for the first time, made sure they went out on primary day and really exciting to see.
00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:39.119
Lovely.
00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:42.319
Participating in uh civil civic behaviors.
00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:43.440
Is that what it is what it's called?
00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.039
Yeah, civic duties, I would say.
00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:46.240
Civic duties, there we go.
00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:47.039
That's a better term.
00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:48.480
And yeah, I agree with you.
00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:53.440
I think if you don't have information about something, you cannot make an informed decision.
00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:53.839
Yeah.
00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:56.000
So this is more to the candidates.
00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.599
Put something out there, man.
00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.160
Come on.
00:24:58.400 --> 00:24:59.359
Share some information.
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:02.400
Literally nothing when I search for some of these names.
00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:03.359
Anyway.
00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:05.759
Thank you so much for listening to Everything is Public Health.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:09.519
If you like the show, the best thing you can do to help us is by telling everyone you know about the show.
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.680
Please rate, review, and leave a comment about the show.
00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:13.359
That does help us a bunch as well.
00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:20.079
If you have any questions or think we missed an important perspective, you can email us at everythingispublichealth at gmail.com.
00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:26.480
For more information about the show as well as bonus materials, please visit our website at everythingispublichealth.com.
00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:28.400
And remember, everything is public health.
00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:30.720
Everything is public health.
00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:07.200
Welcome back to Everything Is Public Health.
00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:08.560
We are back for season eight.
00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:09.439
I'm MJ.
00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:10.400
And I'm Cass.
00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:13.839
I say season eight, but the seasons are sort of decided arbitrarily.
00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:16.079
Um but the important thing is we are back.
00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:18.559
How many years have we been doing this?
00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:20.399
I think is a more important question.
00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:22.719
Yes, I believe four.
00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:24.239
July 2021?
00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:24.879
Oh, five.
00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:26.879
It's been oh my god, it's been five years.
00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:27.920
Five plus.
00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:33.039
Five plus years with eight-ish seasons, however they choose to identify themselves.
00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:33.520
Yes.
00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:38.479
I know we've talked about this before, but when you were like, hey Cass, do you want to do a podcast on public health?
00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:42.799
I was like, sure, this'll probably go a couple of episodes and then fizzle out.
00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:44.240
And it's just so much fun.
00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:44.880
I know.
00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:46.079
It has been such a blast.
00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:50.399
We've had busy summers and we needed to take a little bit of time off, but I'm very, very excited to be back.
00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:51.920
Yes, as am I.
00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:55.200
If this was a child, next year it would be first grade.
00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:55.920
Oh no.
00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:56.799
Six, right?
00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:58.799
Oh, you mean you mean years.
00:00:58.880 --> 00:00:59.840
I was thinking seasons.
00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:01.840
I was like, no, nine is eighth grade.
00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.400
But yeah, I guess it depends on how we age a podcast.
00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:05.760
We'll say kindergarten.
00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.239
But yes, we are back and we are very excited to be back.
00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:12.400
We are going to return to a classic public health concept called the built environment.
00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:13.760
And I think we talked about this before.
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:14.480
We have, yeah.
00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:36.159
The built environment just means features of the environment that we humans make, not like, you know, rivers, streams, mountains, but breakaway streetlights, walkability of neighborhoods, traffic features, lead paint, sort of in products that we are moving around in, like how we as humans move through space and how the space that we build impacts our health and well-being.
00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:52.799
Yeah, it's a very important topic in public health and in some way very inspiring because that means if our built environment can affect us and we are the ones building said built environment, we can then make choices to build our environment in a way that promotes public health.
00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:54.879
So it's that's a very positive framing.
00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:59.519
Obviously, the negative framing is why haven't we built our environment that promotes public health?
00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:00.879
But you know, this is the first episode.
00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:01.840
We're gonna be positive.
00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:02.959
Capitalism.
00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:04.799
The common enemy.
00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:08.800
Today's topic has to do with another important public health topic, which is suicide prevention.
00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:13.360
We mentioned suicides at least indirectly before, probably in the context of gun violence.
00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:17.439
For example, Cass, what is the leading method of suicide fatality in this country?
00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:18.400
Firearms.
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:23.120
So more than half of all suicides in the US involve a firearm.
00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:37.199
Interestingly, only about 6% of suicide attempts overall involve a firearm, but because 90% of suicide attempts with a firearm end up in a fatality, they represent more than half of all suicide deaths.
00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:42.319
Yes, a very lethal means of hurting someone, other people, or yourself.
00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:48.800
That's why when we're talking about reducing gun violence, we're not just referring to homicide, although homicide gets all the headlines oftentimes.
00:02:48.960 --> 00:03:04.719
Uh one side of suicide that researchers have identified is how many of them, but not all, suicides were due to moments of crisis, meaning that it's a particular night when an individual is either really depressed or maybe a few things happened during the day that triggered a moment of crisis.
00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:08.560
And the crisis, I guess for a lack of a better term, spurred an attempt.
00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:09.120
Yeah.
00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:16.879
So there's a lot of discussion around differences between suicidal ideations, suicidal behaviors, and suicide attempts.
00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:24.800
And as you said, there can be some moment of crisis that may prompt an attempt, but individuals may have made a plan.
00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:36.719
So an important piece of suicide prevention is addressing the mechanisms that people might use in a moment of crisis so that a momentary impulsive decision doesn't turn lethal.
00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:42.319
So we might think about storing firearms locked up in a safe separate from ammunition.
00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:52.960
So the time it would take to access a firearm, access the ammunition, that might be a sufficient amount of time either for someone to intervene or for that moment of crisis to pass.
00:03:53.199 --> 00:04:00.000
There's a common misperception that suicides are inevitable, that someone is going to die no matter what.
00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.400
But the research doesn't bear that out in two ways.
00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:07.039
One, most people who survive a suicide attempt don't go on to die from suicide.
00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:12.159
90% of people who survive go on to die from some other thing later in life.
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:19.839
And we also know that when you restrict access to lethal means, people usually do not opt into other mechanisms.
00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:26.399
So if you cannot gain access to what you had planned, people often won't attempt and that can save a life.
00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:40.560
So some other examples, making sure access to a roof is restricted for a tall building, making sure that there are breakers in electrical outlets in bathrooms so that if you throw an electronic device into a tub, it's not going to short out.
00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:47.920
Having prescriptions and lower quantities available for strong medications and not having them over the counter.
00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.680
Yeah, it's about adding those barriers so that you delay the time.
00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:58.399
And obviously, you know, you can think of, well, what I need is an extension cord from the other room, but it takes time for you to go grab an extension cord.
00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.759
Also, not everyone have an extension cord, which I found out myself two weeks ago.
00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:04.879
Adding those barriers is a key part of this conversation.
00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:08.160
And one of those barriers could be physical in the built environment.
00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:13.439
For example, adding barriers to locations where people may attempt to leap from, like bridges.
00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:17.040
Bridges is a common location of suicide attempts.
00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.399
We'll delve into this in a little bit, but I want to bring up another point.
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:32.240
When discussing public health topics or any big topics like politics or climate, there's a tendency for the media and the general public to be hyper-focused on a few very salient topics within that area.
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:37.279
For example, with suicide, the salient topics are mental health, obviously, and firearms.
00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:38.879
This is completely logical.
00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:42.639
Firearms are a necessary part of the conversation when talking about suicides.
00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:50.720
However, given how our current media landscape is so clickbaity and polarizing, it's all about shock and the 24-hour news cycle.
00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:51.839
We talked about this before.
00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:55.439
Those salient topics can sometimes dominate the entire discourse.
00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:02.399
For instance, yes, we can talk about suicides without talking about firearms, but we shouldn't just talk about firearms when we talk about suicide prevention.
00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:03.439
Like, am I making sense?
00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:04.480
Oh, absolutely.
00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.199
So my focus area is on firearms.
00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:14.319
We have many colleagues in our center who work on suicide prevention and firearms suicide prevention specifically, safe storage, et cetera.
00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:21.360
But the field broadly talks about a thing called lethal means safety counseling or lethal means restrictions.
00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:27.680
And this is really about recognizing there are a range of mechanisms that people might use to harm themselves.
00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:34.160
And it's important to have conversations about restricting access to the variety of means that people may use.
00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:45.199
We know that men tend to opt into firearms and women generally tend to opt into cutting or pills for overdose, but that's not a hard and fast rule.
00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:51.600
So making sure that individuals are having conversations about the range of lethal means that are available, it's really important.
00:06:51.759 --> 00:07:00.480
As I said, yes, firearms are more than 50% of suicide fatalities in the US, but that means that about 45% of suicides are caused from other mechanisms.
00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:03.519
And public health is about tackling problems from multiple angles.
00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:07.519
We don't just have to focus on one thing when it comes to suicide prevention.
00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:09.040
We could do multiple things at once.
00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:10.560
This isn't a multiple choice exam.
00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:14.720
We could pick multiple solutions simultaneously and don't ever buy into the idea.
00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:17.360
It's like, no, no, no, until we do this, we can't do this other thing.
00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.360
It's like we could do multiple things at once.
00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:20.879
There's no order to this, you know.
00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:22.560
Ideally, all of this should happen, right?
00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:24.560
Well, and that's quintessential public health.
00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:33.199
We try to intervene in as many places as possible with as many strategies as possible because no one thing is going to solve the problem.
00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.199
No one thing causes the problem.
00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:39.360
So it's illogical and impossible that one thing could be the solution.
00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:47.279
It's really important when we're thinking about solving a problem, a complex problem from a public health perspective, that we are taking a multifaceted approach.
00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:47.839
Yes.
00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:50.959
So this episode is going to be a little bit unorthodox.
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:58.720
I had the opportunity to interview Laurel Stein, the chief advocacy and policy officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.199
The rest of this episode will be an interview that I had with her.
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:09.439
We will discuss, for once, some good news in this podcast: a bipartisan build about changing the built environment to reduce fatal suicide attempts.
00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:14.639
All right, like with all interview, go ahead and introduce yourself.
00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:15.199
Yes.
00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:17.519
Hello, my name is Laurel Stein.
00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:26.000
I am the executive vice president and chief policy and advocacy officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:32.320
And what that essentially is, I provide strategic leadership and manage the Washington, D.C.
00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:34.879
based policy and advocacy team.
00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.320
We work on federal, state, and local level advocacy.
00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:41.919
And I have a team of seven wonderful policy professionals.
00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:43.200
Always good to have a team.
00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:46.879
Let's give a little bit of context, uh, just to sort of frame our discussion.
00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.840
How do US suicide rates compare with peer nations?
00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.039
Like, is it more concerning or less concerning than comparable countries?
00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:54.639
You know, that's a very good question.
00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:56.720
And I would like to answer it in this way.
00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:02.320
First of all, we know that the 2024 data from the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention has come out.
00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.679
And suicide in the US is the 10th leading cause of death.
00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:06.879
That is startling.
00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:08.639
That is drastic.
00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:15.519
That is a public health crisis with 48,824 suicide-related deaths.
00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:19.120
Now, that has been down 1% from 2023.
00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:26.240
And also the rate, 13.7 rate per 100,000 population, is also down, which is 22% down.
00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:32.240
However, suicide being the 10th leading cause of death in the United States is concerning.
00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:45.679
And we know that the US has relatively high rates of suicide, as I said, but we have not really experienced the same sustained declines that we've seen other higher income countries have achieved.
00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:53.679
And I think, you know, US is a standout because suicide remains a major and persistent public health challenge.
00:09:53.840 --> 00:10:01.600
Whereas other countries really have done more to reduce root suicide rates by implementing comprehensive prevention strategies.
00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:04.720
You said the CDC data was from 2024.
00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:09.519
Has the current administration impeded that data collection in any way?
00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:13.919
This is just something that came up because they're doing a lot of uh defunding, shall we say?
00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.279
So do you have concerns about further years of data upcoming?
00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:18.559
Not at this time.
00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:20.480
The data, you know, came out.
00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:28.879
It may have been slightly delayed, but most of the concerns with the administration and the delays had largely been due to staffing cuts and some of the programmatic.
00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:37.519
But right now, the data is there, it's clear, and we consistently, AFSP, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, consistently relies on that.
00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:49.200
Not only do we do on our website, you'll see under AFSP.org slash statistics, we have the data synthesized that will remark on the 10th leading cause of deaths, but we also have state fact sheets.
00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:59.120
So you can go to each of the states and learn where their ranking is and other helpful demographic information impacting suicide for that population in that state.
00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:06.399
I feel like if you're not in the field of public health or mental health, you often can view suicide as like, oh, this is a very individualistic act.
00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:09.200
This person decided to take whatever steps.
00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:15.759
But there are actually, as you and I both know, there's a lot of like structural things that we can change, like broader policy solutions that we could do.
00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:24.799
So, like, what are some examples of these policy solutions that may seem very far removed from individual actions that we can put in place and actually, you know, tackle suicide as a problem?
00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:26.480
I really love this question.
00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.320
And you know why I love it so much?
00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:34.559
Because AFSP prides itself on recognizing that suicide is a public health problem.
00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:47.360
And at AFSP, we also approach our suicide prevention work, whether it's through policy, advocacy, educational programs, or communications or research in a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention.
00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:54.240
So, yes, one of the biggest misconceptions about suicide is that it's solely an individual or even a mental health issue.
00:11:54.399 --> 00:12:12.320
But suicide, as I said, is a public health crisis and a public health issue, and that risk is shaped by factors like economic stress, social isolation, lack of belongingness, access to care, substance use, discrimination, exposure to trauma, access to lethal means, all of these.
00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:21.919
And we also know on the good side, because as a policy and advocacy chief at AFSP, we know that policies can influence all of those outcomes.
00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:30.639
And as a comprehensive approach to suicide, we know that we take a multifaceted approach to public health, the framework.
00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:38.559
So we are operating under the understanding that there's really no single strategy that can prevent suicide, right?
00:12:38.720 --> 00:13:06.720
It requires really a combination of strategies across multiple levels from broad society, societal policies like income security, food security, community programs, as well as those really targeted evidence-based clinical interventions like suicide-specific care, as well as lethal means safety, like secure storage for firearms, lock boxes, which will create time and distance between an individual in acute and intense crisis.
00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:08.720
So those are some of the things that we know.
00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:26.000
And I'm so welcomed by that question because it's really fundamentally having this public awareness that suicide is a public health problem, and that a comprehensive public health approach is what's needed in order to really help to fight suicide.
00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:29.200
It's complex and there's really no single-set strategy.
00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:34.559
We talked about the firearm side of things because that's again, it's such a lethal means, so it's a leading cause of death.
00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:38.960
What's another policy example that you can think of that can intervene on suicide rates?
00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:45.840
Really, the strongest evidence-based approaches is reducing that access to lethal means during that period of crisis.
00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.240
But most suicidal crises are temporary.
00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:53.519
So one of the policy issues that we are championing through bipartisan legislation.
00:13:53.759 --> 00:14:03.759
In fact, just in this May of 2026, we held our advocacy forum where we bring in over 200 volunteer advocates from across the country.
00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:08.799
They come to Washington, D.C., we provide educational programs, and then they have a day on the hill.
00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:14.320
And so one of the issues that we advocated for was the Barriers to Suicide Act.
00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:21.919
And this legislation is really a fine example of what I was saying earlier about public health in action.
00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:33.279
Essentially, the legislation would support the installation of evidence-based suicide deterrent barriers and other kinds of safety measures at bridges and other structures.
00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:44.720
And we know that this has become suicide hotspots, for example, and that physical barriers are among the most effective and well-studied suicide prevention interventions.
00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:52.080
And I kind of liken it to, you know, we design roads and buildings and even products with safety in mind, right?
00:14:52.320 --> 00:15:01.279
And suicide prevention barriers really apply that same public health approach, a principle to locations where lives are at risk.
00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:04.399
What was the background and context for this bill?
00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.600
Like what led the organization to push for this legislation?
00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:12.559
Yes, unfortunately, that there's been some real tragedies on bridges.
00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:18.399
You've probably heard seen in the news from the Golden Gate Bridge to other bridges and other structures.
00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:21.840
So we know that data exists.
00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:28.000
We know that there's a plethora of research demonstrating the effectiveness of these safety measures.
00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:36.240
And so now at a national level, we want to scale up and assist with creating, it's a$10 million program.
00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:37.440
It is very modest.
00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:38.480
It's a grant program.
00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:45.039
But nevertheless, it is in furtherance of an issue that is right for change.
00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:48.720
And we need more of these barriers to exist.
00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:50.639
So we're supporting this for that reason.
00:15:50.720 --> 00:16:00.080
And we're so proud of our legislative champions and Congressman Don Bayer in, you know, raising this issue and being just the steadfast champion of the barriers to suicide act.
00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:07.440
It's a modest program, but I really think it's these small steps that we need to take to sort of get to where we are, hopefully, with other levels of intervention as well.
00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.039
You said it was bipartisan, which is very rare nowadays, I feel.
00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:13.919
What was the most politically challenging barrier with this?
00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:15.759
Or was this like everyone was on board?
00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.240
You know, we are still building up support.
00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:26.399
One of the merits of AFSP is that we do pride ourselves in helping to advance, helping to draft legislation that is bipartisan.
00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:35.360
And the bills that we take to Capitol Hill with our volunteers and those that we roughly champion in the states, but federally, most of them are bipartisan.
00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.399
Suicide prevention is a nonpartisan issue.
00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:43.519
It crosses potty lines, it crosses demographics, it impacts everyone.
00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.240
And everyone has a role to play in suicide prevention.
00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:53.279
So we are still building up support, and that was one of the reasons why we had our advocates come in town to help build up support.
00:16:53.360 --> 00:17:08.960
And what I mean by that is to make a request of their members of Congress who they serve as constituents, whether in the House or the Senate, and make a request for them to co-sponsor the legislation, meaning signing on as a co-sponsor so it's listed online.
00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:11.839
It's a signal of support for the legislation.
00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:28.640
The legislation is still in committee, although we have some promising signs that some suicide-specific legislation on barriers is likely to be included in some of the surface transportation reauthorization and some of the appropriations bills around that right now as a freestanding bill.
00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:37.920
And that is really an important ask of our lawmakers.
00:17:38.160 --> 00:18:05.359
Not only did we have our volunteers come to Washington, DC in May to talk about that, we also have a campaign, action alert, on our website where anyone, the public, can go to our website in our afsp.org backslash advocacy and go to our action network and write email their take action, I should say, where they will, their message will go directly as a constituent to their two senators and their representative.
00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:18.319
So we welcome anyone to really take action and to support this legislation, to give it the momentum that it deserves in order to advance out of committee, hopefully on the floor and ultimately enact it.
00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:28.400
But we do know that most times in federal legislation, unlike the states, which of course are our laboratories of change and move at a different rate of speed with the enactment of legislation, it takes time.
00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:33.599
And we know that we're not in a sprint, we're in a marathon, and it's being very strategic about this.
00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:39.279
And we're also building up support not only from AFSP, but across our partners.
00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:48.799
So we have a lot of national groups within the mental health liaison group, which is a one of the leading nonprofit mental health coalitions in town.
00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:53.920
So we also are building up support from those national members in order to help build up support.
00:18:54.240 --> 00:19:03.920
From a policy standpoint, whether it's from your personal standpoint or from the organization, what do you think is the biggest gap right now in suicide prevention in the US that needs to be addressed as soon as possible?
00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:06.559
Yes, that's a big lofty question, right?
00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.960
And we're here to tackle on these big lofty questions, and that's how we get policy change.
00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:26.880
You know, I just want to reiterate that suicide prevention is a public health responsibility, as I said at the outset, and that we all have a role to play that's gonna require multiple levels of action across individuals, community, clinical, et cetera.
00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:28.960
And so we know that suicide is preventable.
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:34.559
Suicide prevention requires a public health approach, and we also know that policy can save lives, right?
00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:36.720
Those three things are really good takeaways.
00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.960
But with that, I'll say two things.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:58.640
I think implementation of a comprehensive approach, a community-based approach to suicide prevention is what's is a huge barrier, and that we don't have enough sustained investment in and scaling up these best practices, and we know what works.
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.960
We just need the political will and we need that sustained investment.
00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.680
But I think it's the implementation, the comprehensive community-based suicide prevention.
00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:17.200
And one of the things we didn't talk about in 2024, uh, the previous administration released the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, which is a roadmap on suicide prevention.
00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.519
It's a 10-year plan, it's a lot of good data.
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:24.319
It talks about lethal means and also it really focuses on a whole of government approach.
00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:28.720
And that is what we need nationally, a whole of government approach.
00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:32.160
Because, like we said at the onset, comprehensive public health approach.
00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:38.480
So I would say implementation is a big, you know, because the challenge is really not about not having enough evidence.
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:45.279
It really is about the lack of consistent implementation and sustained investments.
00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:58.079
And one other thing I would say, in addition to implementation, I would also say we need to really close the gaps on between the time when we identify someone at risk and how we deliver care.
00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:05.839
I mean, there are long wait times for mental health care, there's a lack of mental health providers, reimbursement issues.
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.440
There's a whole gamut of other issues that comes into play.
00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:17.920
So if I wanted to say the biggest things, I would say implementation, and I would also say that gap between identifying risk and delivering care.
00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:21.039
I don't know how much you can speak on this, and if you can't, I understand.
00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.000
Political will is obviously an important component of this.
00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:29.279
What has been the biggest barrier political will-wise, with suicide prevention?
00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:34.720
We have a lot of champions on suicide prevention, and I said that it's a bipartisan issue.
00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.240
However, there is a scarcity of those champions, you know.
00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:49.839
We want to applaud those champions at the state, federal, local level and that are doing all they can and recognize the public health approach and recognize the comprehensiveness and that suicide prevention is complex.
00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:53.599
Many of these champions also have lost a loved one to suicide.
00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:59.519
So I think the political will is really enabling and encouraging those spokespeople.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:14.000
To speak, to talk across the aisle and to build up support for these federal legislation, such as the barriers to suicide care, that really need more bipartisan support from co-sponsorship.
00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:22.640
So it's been introduced with a Republican and Democrat, but we definitely need more Republicans, in addition to Democrats, co-sponsoring the bill.
00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:27.279
Thank you again to Laurel Stein for the interview.
00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:31.519
And now for the microgood section, because positive action is a cure to doom.
00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:34.160
And honestly, this section is for me too.
00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:38.640
Having to remind myself that a better world is possible if we make it.
00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:46.640
So my micro good is taking whatever unique talent or skill you have and sharing it with people.
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:49.759
I crochet, I think we've talked about this a lot.
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.759
And not only do I oh, have I never mentioned on the podcast that I crochet?
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:54.799
I think I've cut it out.
00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:55.519
Oh, okay.
00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:56.240
Every time.
00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:57.680
But you do love crocheting.
00:22:57.839 --> 00:22:58.799
Anyway, I crochet a lot.
00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:01.599
I crochet everywhere pretty much all of the time.
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:07.039
I enjoy making things, like it keeps my hands busy and it sort of helps me focus on what I'm doing.
00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:13.920
But it brings me a lot of joy to gift someone something, particularly if they're not expecting it, sometimes when they are.
00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:20.720
But I have three crocheted gifts that I will be distributing today and tomorrow, and that makes me really happy.
00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:22.640
Joy as a part of resistance.
00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:24.640
Don't let them make your life miserable.
00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:26.640
So remember to have some joy in your life.
00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.559
Other micro good is vote.
00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:31.519
I believe when this comes out, this will be peak voting season.
00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.839
So go ahead and uh do that.
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:42.000
And then make sure obviously you're registered and make sure that you vote down ballot and make sure that you make an informed decision about uh who you are voting.
00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:43.359
Totally side tangent.
00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:48.880
I just filled out my ballot, but there are some candidates that truly have nothing written about them online.
00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:49.519
Okay.
00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:51.279
So and it's so frustrating.
00:23:51.440 --> 00:24:04.880
So my youngest is now old enough to vote and so voted in the primary, did an impressive amount of research and came to me and said, What do I do about a candidate who doesn't have a website?
00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:08.640
I said, Well, you could Google them, you could et cetera, et cetera.
00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:12.640
Nope, there's no information about this person anywhere at all.
00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:21.200
And I thought, I will tell you what I would do, which is probably not vote for that person because I have no idea what they stand for, what they might do.
00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:29.359
I said, but the best and the sometimes most challenging thing about voting is you make your own best educated guests.
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:38.480
And it was really cool and got a whole bunch of friends who were all eligible to vote for the first time, made sure they went out on primary day and really exciting to see.
00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:39.119
Lovely.
00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:42.319
Participating in uh civil civic behaviors.
00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:43.440
Is that what it is what it's called?
00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.039
Yeah, civic duties, I would say.
00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:46.240
Civic duties, there we go.
00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:47.039
That's a better term.
00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:48.480
And yeah, I agree with you.
00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:53.440
I think if you don't have information about something, you cannot make an informed decision.
00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:53.839
Yeah.
00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:56.000
So this is more to the candidates.
00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.599
Put something out there, man.
00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.160
Come on.
00:24:58.400 --> 00:24:59.359
Share some information.
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:02.400
Literally nothing when I search for some of these names.
00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:03.359
Anyway.
00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:05.759
Thank you so much for listening to Everything is Public Health.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:09.519
If you like the show, the best thing you can do to help us is by telling everyone you know about the show.
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.680
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00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:13.359
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00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:20.079
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00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:26.480
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00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:28.400
And remember, everything is public health.
00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:30.720
Everything is public health.
