U.S Senator Gardner Applauds $900,000 Suicide Prevention Grant for Colorado
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) applauded the announcement that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will receive a $901,139 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve suicide prevention in Colorado. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this funding will be used to implement and study a “comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention.”
“Colorado has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, and it causes heartbreak and loss in communities across our state,” said Senator Gardner. “As our country is facing an unprecedented challenge in responding to COVID-19, suicide prevention is now more important than ever. I’m pleased to see this important funding awarded to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and I will continue fighting to ensure Coloradans have access to life-saving suicide prevention services.”
Senator Gardner has made it a priority to address rising suicide rates in Colorado and across the nation:
- On average, Colorado loses someone every seven hours to suicide.
- In July 2020, Gardner and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the Crisis Care Improvement and Suicide Prevention Act to support crisis care centers and save lives.
- Gardner is leading efforts to designate 9-8-8 as the national suicide prevention hotline so it’s easier for Americans in a mental health crisis to receive help. On May 13, the Senate unanimously passed Gardner’s National Suicide Hotline Designation Act.
- In April 2020, Gardner and a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for an increase critical funds for suicide prevention amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Gardner introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Effective Suicide Screening and Assessment in the Emergency Department Act in December 2019 to improve suicide screening and prevention practices in hospital emergency departments with a focus on increasing identification, assessment, and treatment of patients who are at risk for suicide.
- In September 2019, Gardner introduced the Suicide Training and Awareness Nationally Delivered for Universal Prevention (STANDUP) Act with Senator Doug Jones (D-AL), which is supported by Sandy Hook Promise and requires states and public schools to implement evidence-based policies to prevent suicides in order to receive Project AWARE grants.
- Gardner introduced the Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act in September 2019 with Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), which authorizes new loan repayment options for mental health professionals who agree to practice in an area with a shortage.
Cory Gardner is a member of the U.S. Senate serving Colorado. He sits on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee, and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.