Local Survivors Conference at UC-San Diego in
La Jolla on November 17
Thousands of survivors of suicide loss – people who have lost family members or friends to suicide – will be connected on Saturday, November 17, 2007 when the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) presents its ninth annual conference. A 90-minute broadcast, “National Survivors of Suicide Day,” will link dozens of sites around the world, including UC-San Diego, via the satellite broadcast/webcast.
“A person dies by suicide every 16 minutes in the United States,” said Bob Gebbia, executive director of AFSP. “With every suicide, there are family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers — ‘survivors’ — left behind to cope with the tragic loss.”
The broadcast, offering healing, support, information and empowerment to suicide survivors, will be presented from 9:30 a.m. to noon on November 17 at the UC-San Diego Medical Teaching Facility, room 274 on the UCSD campus in La Jolla.
The broadcast from AFSP will feature a panel of medical experts as well as people from all over the country who have lost husbands, wives, children, parents, friends and siblings to suicide. The UCSD conference presentation will be moderated by Sid Zisook, M.D., UCSD professor of psychiatry, and will feature refreshments, and group discussion.
“AFSP’s National Survivors of Suicide Day allows survivors to connect with others who have experienced a similar loss,” said Zisook.
The conference is free, but space is limited, so advance registration is encouraged by contacting Stephanie at
smirkin@ucsd.edu.
More About Suicide/Depression:
- Each year more than 30,000 people in the United States die by suicide.
- Ninety percent of all people who die by suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death.
- Currently, suicide is the
4th leading cause of death in the United States among people ages 18-65, the 11th leading cause overall.
About the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and to reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide.
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Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163,
ddkain@ucsd.edu