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Rep. Don Beyer @RepDonBeyer
, 10 tweets, 6 min read Read on Twitter
Today is #WorldSuicidePreventionDay

One of the most important things we can do to fight the growing epidemic of suicide in America is talk about it. We have a really bad problem that is getting worse quickly, but we can't help people if we ignore their problems. 1/
First a few notes on the problem, and what we've learned in recent months.

A new CDC shows that the incidence of suicide in the US has risen sharply, by about 30% over the past two decades. 2/ cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/6…
In addition to veterans, more new groups are also starting to show heightened suicide risk:
- Young women businessinsider.com/us-suicide-rat…
- Black children washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-h…
- Farmers cbsnews.com/news/american-…
Most of us probably know someone who has experienced suicidal thoughts. 3/
Despair is also driving huge increases in the number of people who die by overdose. nytimes.com/2018/08/15/ups…

We must not respond to people who feel hopeless by pretending they don't exist or that they don't have problems. Compassion and communication are essential. 4/
So here are some things we can do to help.
usatoday.com/story/news/201…

Awareness, identifying risk signs, and talking about them are essential. We have all been touched by mental illness among our family and friends; we can help end the stigma. 5/ huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-t…
We can help those who need it get help.

I recently visited a crisis center where they take calls from a suicide prevention hotline. These people are trained professionals who help save lives.
6/
We can help with policy. The rise in suicide followed a decline in mental health services. businessinsider.com/anthony-bourda…
I formed the bipartisan suicide prevention caucus in Congress to help address this.
afsp.org/giving-thanks-…
We are making some progress. thehill.com/policy/healthc… 7/
State-level policies are key when it comes to funding for mental health services. Many of those funds flow through Medicaid, and I'm thrilled that Virginia has finally expanded the program, which will do so much when it comes to mental health. 8/ richmond.com/news/virginia/…
CDC data also point to guns as a risk factor.
nytimes.com/2018/06/09/us/…
Half of suicides are committed with a gun.
everytownresearch.org/reports/disrup…
Studies show legislation like our #GVROAct which allow the removal of guns from people in crisis can reduce suicide. 9/
huffingtonpost.com/entry/red-flag…
This week #NationalSuicidePreventionWeek and throughout the month of September #SuicideAwarenessMonth I hope you will look at what we are learning about suicide in America, and think about ways that you can support friends and loved ones at risk. All of us can help. 10/10
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Two years ago House Republicans began the 115th Congress by reviving an old rule which would allow them to attack federal workers in must-pass legislation.

Tomorrow, @HouseDemocrats led by Members from the National Capital Region will eliminate the Holman Rule.

Our statement:
The Holman Rule was originally established in 1876 as part of a contentious fight over civil service reform. It enabled the House to use federal appropriations language to cut individual salaries, programs, or office sizes. 2/ history.house.gov/HistoricalHigh…
The provision to attack federal employees was discarded in 1983, but House Republicans revived it at the beginning of the previous session of Congress. 3/ washingtonpost.com/local/virginia…
Read 5 tweets
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Today Trump and EPA chief Andrew Wheeler signed off on a new rule which would make it easier for coal plants “to release into the atmosphere more mercury and other pollutants linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses.”

This is awful news, but it gets worse. 1/
The rule Trump and Wheeler are attacking was issued under Obama in 2011 after 20 years of work. It took into account the value for the country of preventing illnesses and premature deaths for thousands, a vast benefit to public health (and to taxpayers) 2/ green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/e-p…
That didn’t sit well with Robert Murray, one of the wealthiest coal barons in the country. Murray reportedly gave a million dollars to Trump’s Super PAC, and hundreds of thousands more to his inaugural committee. 3/ thedailybeast.com/a-coal-giant-g…
Read 7 tweets
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Scientific evidence has shown the danger to our planet's biodiversity from habitat loss, and the threat which loss of species poses to ecosystems around the world.

@SenatorTomUdall and I are introducing the bicameral Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act to meet this threat. 1/
The Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act was inspired by the work of the legendary biologist Dr. E.O. Wilson, who coined the term "biodiversity" and whose work (including the excellent book "Half Earth") remains essential. We talked about it last year: 2/ npr.org/2016/05/22/479…
The Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act would connect the habitats of threatened species together with a series of protected lands - wildlife corridors - which would strengthen the genetic diversity in key populations. More on that here: 3/
Read 5 tweets

Related threads

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Today I’ve been thinking a lot about boundaries wrt interpersonal care; whether that’s the kind of thing done in Professionalised Industrial care work (which I can’t speak to), the wonderful work by @queercarenet, or the kind of stuff I spend my time doing - wrt queer/left spaces
Surprising no one who has known me irl for any length of time, I’m a massive extrovert who expends huge amounts of energy on others. The past few years have mainly been about constructing healthy boundaries around that in order to avoid Superhero/Martyr complexes etc.
I’m not going to speak on that here; far cleverer people than myself have written about this at length many times before. This is not that thread.
Read 23 tweets
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@CDCgov releases mortality rates at the end of every year. Importantly, the #suicide rate in the US last year was 47,173—up from 44,965 suicide deaths in 2016 and 44,193 in 2015. (THREAD) #SPSM
@CDCgov To some extent, this comes as no surprise: the suicide rate has been rising steadily for the past 2+ decades. We knew that. What *is* surprising is the jump in the number of suicide deaths in 2017; according to government records, this is the sharpest increase in 50 years. #SPSM
Something has to be done. The #suicide prevention field has proven itself useless (thus far). Despite our best efforts, the rates continue to rise. We have to change EVERYTHING. #SPSM
Read 18 tweets
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Today there's a lot of well-deserved anger towards white women for consistently prioritizing the protection of whiteness + heterosexual norms - coded as "safety" + "tradition" - in how we vote.
It isn't new. Re: the 53% in the 2016 election, @MsPeoples wrote: "white women are not unified in opposition to Trumpism + can’t be counted on to fight it. Instead, it’s the identity, experience + leadership of black women that we must look to." nyti.ms/2REZnuO
This year @juliekkohler1 wrote about why white women too often align their political interests w/ white men. She named systemic evangelical Christian influences but most importantly: “white supremacy remains the prevailing force in electoral politics.” bit.ly/2zKatrt
Read 24 tweets
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Today is #WorldSuicidePreventionDay and while I usually wouldn't participate in hashtags, this one is of particular importance to me. Here's some of the most important statistics regarding suicide in our society today.
In the last 20 years suicide rates have increased by around 25%. More than half of those who died by suicide, had not been diagnosed with a mental health condition. There are only three causes of death which are increasing year over year: drug overdoses, Alzheimer's, and suicide.
Women are four times more likely to attempt suicide, while men are five times more likely to die by suicide. Men are far more likely to use lethal means (firearm, hanging) while women are more likely to use para-lethal means such as self-poisoning with medications.
Read 12 tweets
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Hello. I'm someone living with depression and there have been times where I've just wanted to end it all, to disappear, to make it stop. Here's what I want you to do instead of posting #suicide hotline numbers:
Lobby for better healthcare conditions in America. Call your representatives and ask them to support affordable and easy access to mental healthcare treatment. Stop thinking emotional people are 'weak.' Help suicide prevention volunteers get paid for helping people stay alive.
The healthcare crisis in America impacts people with mental health issues. Medicine, therapists and wellness programs are expensive without healthcare. We can't afford treatment. We don't have access to the needs and conditions that can truly help prevent suicide.
Read 8 tweets
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One of the most important things I ever learned about injustice was the difference between prejudice, discrimination, and oppression.

A Sunday thread.
Prejudice is ideas you hold about a people group. Positive or negative, you hold them based on people being different than you. These are natural, normal, and able to be personally dismantled.
Discrimination is when you ACT on prejudice. Your thoughts about a people group lead you to treat an individual in that group a certain way.

Again, this isn’t automatically negative. Maybe you treat them better or worse based on group membership.
Read 12 tweets

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