Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council proclaims September as Suicide Prevention Month; speakers urge funding, prevention and community supports
Summary
Denver City Council adopted a proclamation recognizing September as Suicide Prevention Month and heard testimony from councilmembers, advocates and parents emphasizing prevention, funding for services and the role of community supports including gun-violence reduction measures and access to care.
Denver City Council on Monday adopted a proclamation declaring September as Suicide Prevention Month and used the council floor to emphasize prevention strategies, community supports and the need for sustained funding for mental-health services.
Councilmember Michael Lewis sponsored the proclamation; the council recorded 11 ayes for adoption. Sponsors and other speakers described suicide prevention as a broad public-health priority spanning youth services, gender-affirming care, eviction prevention and other social supports.
“Suicide prevention begins with removing barriers, improving systems, promoting equity in the care system and advocating for change,” the proclamation text reads. Lewis and multiple councilmembers urged residents to check in with friends and family, seek help and use local resources.
Councilmember Parady described suicide as a state of intense mental distress that can affect anyone and urged community members to ask direct questions about suicidal intent when they are concerned. “There is no such thing as being too nosy about someone's mental health,” Parady said.
Rick Padilla, who accepted the proclamation on behalf of advocacy partners, placed the issue in the context of firearm deaths, citing state and city figures presented to the council: in 2023, Colorado recorded 940 gun-related fatalities with 72% of those deaths by suicide; the city recorded 134 firearm-related deaths with 55% being suicides. Padilla said the figures underline the need to include suicide prevention in broader violence-reduction efforts.
Representatives from Denver Department of Public Health and Environment and the Second Wind Fund described local programs and resources. Gabriel Guillaume of the Second Wind Fund said the nonprofit helps connect youth to therapy by removing financial barriers and reported more than 1,900 referrals last year from youth-serving organizations.
The proclamation directs the clerk to transmit copies to Denver Health, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, the Second Wind Fund and other local partners. Councilmembers emphasized that prevention includes both immediate crisis response and long-term investments in housing stability, health care access and community supports.
This item was ceremonial and did not create new funding in the chamber; it was adopted with an 11-0 recorded vote at the meeting.
