EDITOR’S NOTE: To attend the NJ Hopeline “World Suicide Prevention Day” event or to arrange an interview with University Behavioral Health Care President and CEO Christopher Kosseff, contact Patti Verbanas, Office of Media Relations, at 973.972.7273 or patti.verbanas@rutgers.edu. Parking is free at UBHC, 151 Centennial Ave., Piscataway.
RUTGERS COMMEMORATES WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY WITH CANDLELIGHTING CEREMONY SEPT. 10
University Behavioral Health Care is home to state’s first suicide prevention hotline
WHAT: Representatives from NJ Hopeline, the state’s new suicide prevention hotline operated by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC), will host a candlelight ceremony in support of World Suicide Prevention Day to promote awareness, remember loved ones and stand with survivors of suicide.
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
WHERE: Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, 151 Centennial Avenue, Piscataway
WHO: Guests will share their experiences and discuss this year’s theme: “Stigma: A Major Barrier for Suicide Prevention.” Speakers include: Eric Arauz, nationally recognized behavioral health advocate, trainer and author of An American’s Resurrection; James Clementi, oldest brother of Tyler Clementi, a first-year college student who took his own life in 2010; and Linda Bean, mother of Army Sgt. Coleman Bean, who committed suicide after serving two tours of duty in Iraq. Joining them will be Lynn A. Kovich, Assistant Commissioner for the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini and Allison Blake, Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families.
BACKGROUND: Each year, of the approximately one million people in the United States who attempt suicide, about 40,000 succeed. And although New Jersey has the second-lowest suicide rate in the nation, the number of suicides in the state has risen 31 percent among adults ages 35 to 64 from 1999 (296 suicides) to 2010 (438 suicides), according to a report released this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On May 1, 2013, the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services launched the NJ Hopeline (1-855-654-6735, njhopeline.com), the state’s first suicide prevention hotline, which is operated by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. In its first four months, NJ Hopeline received more than 5,000 calls: 20 percent were from people at risk for suicide; 2 percent were suicides in progress. All suicides in progress were connected to emergency services.