The Arcata City Council on Aug. 20 read a proclamation recognizing Sept. 7–13, 2025, as Suicide Prevention Week and named Sept. 10 as World Suicide Prevention Day. Mayor Alexandra Stillman presented the proclamation, and Heather Freitas, identified in the meeting as board secretary of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, accepted it on behalf of the group.

The proclamation said suicide is a national and statewide public-health problem and listed national statistics included in the document: that suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 34 and the fourth for ages 35 to 44; it cited an estimate of about 1,500,000 suicide attempts (noted in the proclamation as of Feb. 2023) and stated that over 49,000 people died by suicide in the United States, with approximately 4,200 deaths in California.

The document also said more than 90% of people who die by suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental-health condition; it urged improved access to mental-health and substance-use services and supported the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the 2025 California Suicide Prevention Plan. The proclamation emphasizes outreach and the landmark 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline as part of a broader crisis-response system.

Heather Freitas, who accepted the proclamation, said the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will host an Arcata “Out of the Darkness” Community Walk on Sunday, Sept. 7; she said the event is free and open to the public and pointed listeners to afsp.org/arcata for details.

The council treated the proclamation as ceremonial business; no formal council vote was recorded as a requirement for the acceptance of the proclamation. The city posted the signed proclamation, dated Aug. 20, 2025, and encouraged residents to seek local mental-health resources and information about the Sept. 7 walk.