SPEAK Would
Like To Welcome You To Our Website
Every 1 hour and 53
minutes in the U.S. we lose another young person by
suicide.
That's a Columbine a day.
For every completed suicide by youth, approximately 100
to 200 attempts are made.
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15-24 year
olds.
For every 2 homicides their are 3 suicides in the U.S.
Children as young as 5 have died by suicide.
SPEAK is an independent organization in the state of
Maryland, moving forward
with our mission:
To promote the prevention of youth suicide and working
to dispel the social stigma surrounding suicide,
bullying and
depression through a campaign of education
and awareness at the community level.
SPEAK is
the leader of suicide prevention in Maryland
Our
accomplishments include some of the following:
-
SPEAK was instrumental in getting 20 emergency
phones and the Maryland Crisis Hotline number on
the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and six on the Francis
Scott Key Bridge for jumpers. Several bridges in
Southern Maryland have also followed suit and we
continue to move forward with this endeavor.
-
Lisa Hurka Covington/SPEAK and several others,
worked with NEMA (National Emergency Medical
Association) in 2003, to create the ACT
video which addressed youth suicide,
bullying, and computer bullying, which is known
as "cyberbullying" today.
-
SPEAK was the liaison between Delegate Simmons who
co-sponsored HB740,
Safe Schools Reporting Act 2004,
with Governor Ehrlich's office; pushing for the
first time bullying legislation that was passed
successfully in Maryland.
-
We continue our community outreach by speaking to
various groups, including police, schools, emergency
rooms, medical professionals, faith based
organizations, the political arena, as well as
offering assistance to survivors.
-
We also provide a survivors panel each year for the
Maryland's Annual Suicide Prevention Conference
and, this year, SPEAK was acknowledged for its
dedication to creating a "culture of hope."
-
SPEAK
approached Governor Martin O'Malley to create the First Time Suicide
Prevention Commission in
Maryland, which he approved, and came to
fruition shortly after.
-
House Bill HB973, Public Schools -
Maryland Youth Crisis Hotline Distribution of
Information/2010, the first suicide prevention bill
to be implemented since 1986 in Maryland.
SPEAK
will continue to make major strides in the area of
suicide prevention in Maryland and the rest of the
nation.
"We SPEAK for those who hurt in silence"
All donations to SPEAK are tax deductible
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SPEAK's New
Video
SPEAK 2009
Video
SPEAK on
Broadcast Radio
Press Release from Governor Martin
O'Malley
Former
Governor
Robert Ehrlich
The Maryland Youth
Crisis Hotline
1-800-422-0009
National Suicide
Support Groups
The National Suicide Hotlines
Maryland Suicide Prevention
Commission
SPEAK on Facebook
Bev Cobain/Jean Larch 'Dying To Be
Free'
Linda Goldman
'Coming Out,
Coming In'
Goldman's Great Answers to
Difficult Questions about Sex
Nancy Rappaport
'In Her Wake'
Kathryn Seifert, PhD
'Youth Violence'
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