Ducey, local leaders highlight alarming suicide trends

While Arizonans are focused on the pandemic, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says the rising number of suicides in the Copper State is also cause for concern.

Ducey held a media briefing Thursday the 10th to speak about mental health awareness and suicide prevention amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was joined by Dr. Cara Christ, Director of Arizona Department of Health Services, Kathy Hoffman, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, as well as various state health and education leaders.

Ducey began by emphasizing the dangerous statistics regarding suicides in Arizona before this year.

“Last year, 1,500 Arizonans died of suicide. That means on average a suicide occurred every 6 hours in the state, and that was before the pandemic,” Ducey said.

Ducey emphasized that suicide is an even bigger issue amid the pandemic. Ducey highlighted past legislation such as Jake’s Law which requires insurance companies to cover mental health treatment the same as an annual physical, as well as providing $8 million to uninsured or underinsured children.

Hoffman spoke briefly to commend Arizona schools for supporting communities in light of the pandemic.

“This has been a difficult year for our schools, but in the face of these new challenges our schools have shown their unwavering commitment to supporting students, families and entire school communities,” Hoffman said.

Christ read out statistics from 2019 that indicate 40% of Arizona students surveyed have felt sad or hopeless for two weeks straight, which is higher than the national average of 36%

“As a mother, this information is worrisome, and these data indicate a critical need for our coping strategies and access to mental health services for our youth,” Christ said.

Christ also provided a brief reopening update, saying that 1,677 Bars, gyms, waterparks and movie theaters have filed attestations to reopen with reduced occupancy and compliance with state health requirements.

Christ also reminded Arizonans to get vaccinated for the flu and said that these shots will become widely available by October.

After local health and education leaders spoke, Ducey was asked if he would step in to help unemployed Americans in light of Congress failing to pass a second stimulus package.

Ducey answered, “We need Congress to do their job, they should stop playing partisan politics and get back to work.”

Ducey was pressed further and asked if he could live off $240 a week, but he simply repeated, “This is on Congress.”

Ducey was then asked if he believes President Donald Trump has been dishonest in light of a tape from a private conversation with Bob Woodward revealing he always wanted to downplay the virus, but Ducey told the reporter he was taking a quote out of context.

“The responsiveness and delivery from the president and coronavirus task force has been consistent with real urgency,” Ducey said.

Ducey was pressed on this again later, being directly asked if he feels misled.

“I do not feel misled,” Ducey said.

Ducey also said he fully supports ASU president Michael Crow for his initiatives to contain the spread on campus. At the end of the press conference he commended him for “giving this the college try,” and said there would inevitable be challenges along the way. ASU currently has over 1,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since August 1st, and 486 active positive cases as of September 13th.

Arizonans can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) if they have had suicidal thoughts and can call 2-1-1 for free COVID-19 crisis counseling