AFSP Applauds President Biden for Continued Focus on Suicide Prevention and Mental Health in the State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON (February 8, 2023) – In his second State of the Union address last night, President Biden described his ongoing commitment to addressing the nationwide mental health crisis and increasing support for suicide prevention.

Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Laurel Stine releases the following statement:

AFSP commends President Biden for his continued focus on addressing the ongoing mental health crisis and his commitment to expanding access to suicide prevention programs. The priorities that President Biden identified in his remarks, including preventing suicide among Veterans, protecting children online, and expanding access to mental health care, are vital to increasing access to care and addressing suicide as a leading cause of death within our nation.

In addition to the priorities President Biden laid out in his remarks, the White House released a fact sheet outlining the President’s vision to advance his unity agenda this year. Many of the issues outlined in the fact sheet align with AFSP’s 2023-2024 public policy priorities, including the following:

• Reducing Veteran suicide, including a new $10 million program at the Department of Veterans Affairs to help states and Tribes develop and implement Veteran suicide prevention proposals; increasing access to safety counseling and safe storage for Veterans; and expanding access to peer support, including mental health services, for Veterans.
• Protecting children, teens, and young adults online, including urging Congress to pass legislation to provide strong privacy, health, and safety protections for children and youth online.
• Expanding access to mental health services, including improving school-based mental health through grant funding to increase the number of mental health care professionals in high-need districts and strengthening the school-based mental health profession pipeline; strengthening parity enforcement; and improving access to telehealth by promoting interstate license reciprocity for delivery of mental health services across state lines and expanding access to telehealth for servicemembers, Veterans, and their families.
• Enhancing crisis services, including improving the capacity of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by investing in an expansion of the crisis care workforce; scaling mobile crisis intervention services; and developing additional guidance on best practices in crisis response. 
• Continuing to prioritize mental health and suicide prevention research, including research on preventing fatal and non-fatal suicide outcomes outlined in the new White House Report on Mental Health Research Priorities.

AFSP looks forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration and with Congress to support and advance legislation and other public policy solutions that promote suicide prevention and improve mental health for all.

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The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide, including those who have experienced a loss. AFSP creates a culture that’s smart about mental health through public education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, with a public policy office in Washington, DC, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states including Puerto Rico, with programs and events nationwide. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.