Nevada ranks 13th in the nation for suicides. While suicide rates for most age groups decreased in Nevada in 2021, suicide rates increased 41.9 percent for those aged 18 to 24 according to data from the Clark and Washoe counties coroners’ offices. In 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death among those 8-17, 18-24 and 25-44. Among those 65+, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death.

These statistics are just one reason public agencies and organizations from across southern Nevada came together at Las Vegas City Hall on March 28 to provide an update on resources for suicide prevention at a free town hall meeting presented by the City of Las Vegas and Clark County Medical Society (CCNS) in collaboration with the Las Vegas Medical Society.

“The number one resiliency factor for suicide is connectedness, being connected to others, being connected to peers, being connected to family, being connected to social groups,” said Richard Egan, Suicide Prevention Training/Outreach Facilitator, State of Nevada.

Egan was one of five main program presenters who also included Lisa Durette, MD, Assistant Professor, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program Director and Interim Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, UNLV; Luis Medina-Garcia, MD, UMC infectious disease specialist for the Southern Nevada Infectious Disease Society, John Phoenix, APRN, FNP-C, Huntridge Family Clinic, and Mai Tran, Area Director of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Nevada.

Emphasizing the need for more suicide prevention resources, panel members offered detailed discussions on mental health and health care delivery issues and obstacles affecting Nevada youth and the LGBTQIA+ community.

In addition, presenters shared information on Nevada’s suicide prevention efforts including Zero Suicide and Project Aware Suicide as well as the national 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Mayor Carolyn Goodman opened the discussions along with Mayor Pro Tem Bruan Knudsen, and Clark County Medical District President-Elect Mitchell Forman.

Photo: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.