Committee on Indian Affairs United State

Demanding Results to End Native Youth Suicides Committee on Indian Affairs United State

In 2011, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration identified youth suicide as the second leading cause of death for Indian youth between 15 and 24 years of age. The U. S. Centers for Disease Control reported Native youth suicide to be two and a half times the national average in 2012. Many Native children face hopelessness each and every day. They wake up to overcrowded homes with up to 10 or 15 people living in a two or three bedroom house. Many lack access to fresh, healthy food or breakfast because they live in food deserts. In 2014, the Department of Justice released a report called Ending Violence So Children Can Survive. That report found that Native children experience PTSD at the same rate as veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some communities are dealing with daily suicide attempts and suicide clusters. Over the last six months, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota has suffered at least 11 suicides and at least 379 suicide attempts have been reported. This is just one reservation. Many communities across Indian Country are facing similar tragedies or attempted tragedies.