Colorado Child Suicide Statistics

"In May of 2021, experts, emergency room doctors and psychiatrists gathered on a call to discuss how the state got to this point and ask questions about why nearly half of youth emergency room intakes in any given week are related to a suicide attempt or mental crisis: Why has demand for mental health services skyrocketed in the past 15 months, and even more so in the last three or four? "

"Suicide is the leading cause of death for youths in Colorado, and as the state takes time to build partnerships and allocate the necessary resources to address the fatal problem, parents, guardians and adults face mounting pressure to ensure that their children are doing well mentally and not reaching the point of suicidal ideation or attempt." These are quotes from the Coloradoan in June of this year,

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in youth and young adults 10 to 24 years old:

• Suicide rates have increased by 52.2% between 2000 and 2021
• The suicide rate was 11.0 per 100,000 in 2021
• Suicide was the second leading cause of death in 2021

Colorado faces a similar and unfortunate reality:

• In 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death in youth and young adults age 10 to 24
• According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), in 2021, Colorado’s suicide rate was 5.21 per 100,000 people ages 10 to 14, 17.41 per 100,000 people ages 15 to 18, and combined, 10.82 per 100,000 people ages 10 to 18