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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer 

ALABASTER – Alabaster Mayor Scott Brakefield officially proclaimed the week of Sept. 4-10 as National Suicide Prevention Week in the city of Alabaster during the City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 22.

Brakefield presented the proclamation to Amber Henderson from the Alabama Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which is dedicated to helping those affected by or struggling with suicide through research, education, advocacy and other resources.

“Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S, the third leading cause of death among children and teens ages 10 to 19 and the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 20 to 34,” Brakefield said. “In the U.S., over 45,000 people died by suicide in 2020, and suicide rates have increased 30 percent in the last two decades.”

The proclamation states that suicide rates finally decreased 2.1 percent between 2018 to 2019 and decreased by 2.9 percent between 2019 and 2020.

“Whereas in 2020, suicide was the 13th leading cause of death, 793 people died by suicide in the state of Alabama,” Brakefield read from the proclamation. “Whereas over 90 percent of the people who die by suicide, have diagnosable and treatable mental health conditions, although often that condition was not recognized or treated.”

Alabaster’s Public Relations Manager Neal Wagner said the city appreciates everything the Foundation and other local resources do to combat suicide in the community.