Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie says the state has been out of the loop for too long in doing it's part to help provide more social services for people in Nevada. "We know that Nevada, for 20 years, has been the leader in the nation in suicide. It's only in very recent years, since we have a suicide hotline, that we've come down to third or fourth highest in the nation."
That hotline is located at the Crisis Call Center which is receiving more calls than ever, along with a higher number of suicides.
This morning, the state approved a suicide prevention program that allots 170-thousand dollars for two people to start a suicide prevention program... Debbie Gant, with the call center, says it's a good start.
"Mental illness is huge in suicide, depression being number one, that's probably the major cause of suicide. So, the more people understand depression and mental illness, the more they're going to comprehend suicide."
Our state is very susceptible to suicide for many reasons: the high drug and alcohol addiction rates we have, the transitory lifestyle.
Assemblywoman Leslie says the transitory lifestyle also appeals to those addicted to gambling... a different program the state is considering in the Senate Finance committee would set aside 100-thousand dollars for a problem gambling program.
While gambling can be associated with suicide, Leslie says there is usually more to the problem that the program can target.
"It's very interesting that Nevada, with our gaming history, is one of the worst state in terms of having programs to help people who are addicted to gaming. This is the first session where we've seen widespread acknowledgement in the legislature that yes, indeed we do have a problem and we have a responsibility to address it."
That bill still sits in committee, but Leslie says she believes it will be worth the effort if passed.