LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — High school students, mental health groups and those affected first-hand by suicide met with state leaders at the Capitol on Thursday to discuss changes that they say need to be made.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, suicide was the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S.
In Michigan, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death.
Jane Trestain, the public policy chair for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has hope that red flag laws and safe storage requirements will be passed.
Trestain said she believes having stricter gun laws will help decrease school shootings and suicide rates. She also lost her son to suicide.
“I had my son die by suicide four-and-a-half years ago and this has been, just an incredible, actually, healing process for me, and experience, being able to, you know, give people information that I didn’t have,” said Trestain.
High schoolers also shared their experiences with mental health issues.
“We need to stop and we need to help. I struggle with mental health a little myself. But I see a lot of kids in my school, a lot of my friends suffer with mental health too,” said Kaleb Stanley, an 11th grader at Howell High School.
In 2020, AFSP did a poll in which more than half of respondents said that not knowing how to get help keeps people from seeking help.
