September is National Suicide Prevention Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is one of the top leading causes of death in the United States and was responsible for about 47,000 deaths in 2017. And, “there are more than twice as many suicides (47,153) in the United States as there were homicides (19,501).” The CDC also notes that suicide and nonfatal suicidal behavior result in over $50 billion in medical and work loss costs.

Two at-risk segments of note in the U.S. population for suicide are youth and veterans / military service members. One of the opinion pages in The New York Times states that youth suicide (ages 15-24) is increasing faster than any other age group. The percentage of high school students who seriously considered attempting suicide increased from 14.5 percent in 2007 to 17.2 percent in 2017 according to a Youth Risk Behavior Survey produced by the CDC. This month, the Veterans Administration announced that 60,000 veterans died by suicide between 2008 and 2017. To help address this the VA recently launched the #BeThere campaign to raise awareness about suicide prevention and share information about available resources for veterans and service members.

There are a number of charitable organizations that work to help increase awareness of mental health issues and have made strides in changing public attitudes. BBB Wise Giving Alliance encourages donors to support these groups but also remember to visit Give.org to verify if they meet the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. If you don’t see a report on a group that interests you, complete our inquiry form so we can identify charities that can be the subject of an evaluation.

Finally, if you know someone seeking assistance about suicide prevention and related mental health issues, visit the following resource page on the CDC website or this page on the Veterans Administration website.

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video of Lynn O’Connor Vos, President and CEO, Muscular Dystrophy Association (a BBB Accredited Charity) which seeks to cure muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related diseases by funding worldwide research and provide comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy, and education.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• Children’s Cancer Research Fund
• Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR)
• Pajama Program

Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are  interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO  
BBB Wise Giving Alliance