of american life. politics,conomics, and the way journalists interact with the story. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on q&a. >> c-span where history unfolds daily. in 19 79, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. to bring youtinue unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >> the chief executive officer of the american foundation for suicide prevention. it is national suicide prevention week. those whoat mean for

deal with this issue on capitol hill? >> it is an important week to get the message out the suicide is a preventable cause of death. we need to do more to raise awareness about that. the extent of the problem. doo, what people can recognizing warning signs. about.one they care suicide is everyone's problem. we only to get involved. >> won't it comes to capitol hill, what is the federal government do on this front? >> is important this was prevention become part of the public and private sector efforts. side, we need the government to step up the investment. the leading much a cause of death has been addressed and when you have invested

in the science and research and prevention. we need to see an investment commensurate with the size of this problem. particular more investment in suicide prevention research. we think an initial step up should be at least 150 million dollars. we need to find out more about why suicide happens and how to prevent through research area we also need mental health parity. any affordable care act, it was advanced. still today, many americans do not have access to mental health treatment. with ouro a better job regulators federal and state to ensure that every american has access to mental health care. without that, we will not bring the suicide rate down. guests, if you want to call here is the number.

according to the harris poll, the harris poll also the -- ings of hopelessness it is not just one factor, there are multiple things that come create a sense of hopelessness. underlying depression, addiction, anxiety. it may be an underlying health condition but when you add some of the other things. significant loss, loss of a job, breakup, other things that happen in one's life contribute and for some, most of us are resilient. most of us can get through that. for some, they become helpless and that is when you worried about suicide risk. understand,should

if they see something going on and someone they care about that is different for them, there are changes in their behavior. they may be coming isolated. it seriously. it is ok to ask what is going on with you. are you thinking of hurting yourself? it is ok to do that. it is not true that if you ask you are putting the thought in their head. then, follow up and make sure they get the help they need. 94% of those polled said they would do something if someone close to them were contemplating suicide. >> that is an amazing finding. historically, people thought of someone wants to take their life there is nothing you can do. there has been a big change in the understanding of suicide. we can do more to prevent it. we are encouraged by that finding prey the public wants to be more involved and they

understand this is a preventable cause of death. .e commissioned the poll we wanted to understand more about what the public thinks at this point in time. we are very encouraged by these findings. 80% of finding is that americans think their mental health is as important as any other aspect of their health. there hadeel that come provider takes mental health as seriously as the other aspects. we have some rain to do there in terms of educating providers. >> we tend to think of's teens and veterans when it comes to suicide. where do they fall when it comes to the rate? the largest increases in suicide have been among people in the middle years of life. many of them could be veterans.

veterans make up eight or 9% of our population. one out of every five suicide deaths is among veterans. we have a lot more to do. it's not just the v.a.. where are the other people getting their health care? andave formed a partnership memorandum of understanding with the v.a. to try to work with them in communities where veterans are. were they live and work and may not be going to the ba to do more outreach. we have chapters in all 50 states. working with the ba to try to servicend veteran organizations also, to try to reach them where they live and work. >> is that federally funded? >> no. it is a non-funded effort. it is a memorandum to work.

suicide prevention is a public-private partnership. we need to step up. >> this discussion on suicide and suicide prevention. here is the number to call. our first call comes from california. i am calling about project 2025. especially firearms and suicide prevention. more you enlighten us about this and the national effort to educate the firearm owning community about suicide? from themove access home when an individual is at

risk? >> great question. project 2025 is an effort we launched to try to see if down the suicide rate 20% by 2025. of a wherenalysis are we losing people and how are we losing people. to try to see where the opportunities were to do better. systems are a real opportunity. specific to this caller, we that half of those who died by suicide use a firearm to take their life. if we don't start to educate those who own guns about the risk, we are not going to save a lot of lives. do better in terms of safe storage. do not keep the gun accessible. it should be locked and unloaded. when to remove the firearm from the home if someone is at risk. there ishe point where

and the person will not voluntarily store or remove the firearm, there needs to be court gun canaction where the be temporarily taken away during that. of risk. firearms.controlling it is a safety issue. many in the gun owning community are working closely with our chapters try to educate those who sell guns and the customers who come in and by the guns about safe storage, temporarily removing it, what to look for. we think that has potential to save lives. the numbers are enormous in terms of those who take their life using a firearm. parallelsind similar for drug overdoses?

>> clearly, it is not just firearms. a safe storage of medications as well is very important. abouteducating people when someone is at risk at home, how to make the home safe. in terms of things that could be used to make a suicide attempt. that the. of crisis is very short. time by not buy the having access to the means available, things happen and they change their mind. feelings change. someone can intervene. very important. safe storage of firearms and medications and things of that nature are really important. congress saw the passage of the national suicide hotline improvement act. what does it do? >> this is been a high priority for us.

it is important because the lifeline does a great job. also.isis centers calls to the lifeline have doubled since 2014. the resources have been flat. assessment of the crisis system in our country by the federal government and additionally they are looking at the creation of a three digit number that would make it easier for callers. if you make it easier, you better be for the capacity to answer the calls. , there was a bill sponsored and also in the house. we have strong bipartisan support. it passed unanimously in the senate. almost unanimously in the house. it was signed into law. year, we will

assess the system, see what is needed, and look at the possibility of a hotline. we believe there will have to be a larger federal investment in crisis services. it also includes the veterans crisis line. we have been big proponents of this and we think there needs to be a bigger investment in crisis services. we have a caller from georgia. >> i'm going through something with my granddaughter. she is in new jersey. we asked for help and they say they can help us because she's not ours.

i feel like, a mother cannot control her because she cuts out. her say they cannot help her because she is not ours. my grandson found a place in new jersey where men and women stay together so that is not good for her because that is her main problem. startss out there and drinking. worse for me because i will be 79 years old tomorrow. >> this is the kind of story that you hear over and over about people who are struggling with an underlying mental health condition or in this case addiction to alcohol. not finding the care that can

help them. new jersey has a good care system. caller, tryto this to find the care in new jersey that can help her. she must want help also. it takes both the provider and the patient so to speak. this is a story we hear where people end up living on the street because of their mental health condition. comorbid with alcohol and substance problems. it is very hard to treat. it can be treated and to try to find the care, the crisis line might be able to help in terms of referring for were you can find services in new jersey were her granddaughter is. my heart goes out to you in terms of finding the right care to help your granddaughter. >> there are statistics on the website for service i prevention. it is the 10th leading cause of death in the u.s..

for every 25 attempts, there is one suicide. there is a huge annual cost. >> that comes through the federal government. that lostmeans, is years, productivity, and the cost of health care. that is where that comes in. that has been going up dramatically. out, isr thing to point the cdc issued a report in june which shows that over a 15 year. , the suicide rate went up in the u.s.. the costeen going up to our society is going up. there is the financial aspect it takesuman toll area a terrible toll on families, loved ones, school systems, workplaces. all communities. that is the human cost which is

significant as well. we give up messages out and try to help those affected by a suicide loss. it is not their fault. their loved one died because of an illness. mental health conditions are real and these illnesses are real and they need treatment. they are not alone. the numbers of people affected are in the hundreds of thousands in terms of family members, trends, coworkers left behind. >> is are still the same level of stigma to mental health? >> it is getting better. it is not gone. we know this from several things. the numbers of people getting involved who have been affected by suicide either through a loss of a family member or friend or because they themselves struggle. speaking out and getting involved in numbers we have never seen before.

been something called lived experience movement. these are individuals who have lived the experience of being suicidal and they have recovered and now are talking about that to help others. beenwould not have something people would disclose in the past. itsee people talking about freely and openly without fear of discrimination. it is getting better but it is not gone. >> our guests on the phone is from california. >> good morning. is what isestion america's standing on euthanasia? and the second one would be, i hear you talking about the v.a..

i would like to tell you a story of what they did for me. i am a veteran. when i was in kansas city in 1994, i had to go to the v.a. and i had my medical care recommended that i go out and buy a gun and load it to put it to the roof of your mouth and blow your brains out. then all of your problems will be over. that is the care i have received from the v.a. system since day one. to cut him off because of time. >> it is appalling that a

clinician would say that to a patient. i hope we have gotten better. in understanding the mental strains and underlying problems our veterans can feel as they leave the service and transition back into society. i hope we are doing better than that. that is an a story and my heart goes out to you and thank god you didn't act on that ridiculous comment. euthanasia,ion of believe organization the people who are struggling with a mental health condition can get well. there is help and there is hope. the vast majority of people who become suicidal do not die by suicide. they get well. we want to get that message out to people that there is hope and help. when you talk about euthanasia

to people with mental health conditions, we do know some that. there is clearly a way to improve the quality of life for people who struggle. prematurely life for euthanasia, it is not something that exists in the u.s.. there is a physician-assisted death for people who are terminally ill and that is a whole different subject. euthanasia is where you request to have your life taken and we believe that goes against our suicide prevention message. if a teenager wanted to die because they are struggling with an addiction or a mental health problem, that would be horrific. not to try to help them and get them well. our next guest is from new mexico. >> i wanted to talk about my friend. she died by suicide last year and 60 years old because she

gave up and she was scared and could not afford to live anymore. our living conditions are so hard now because after 2008, the hedge funds were allowed to buy out rental places. i had no idea this was going on with her and her mother was so mortified that she took her life it she did not put out an obituary. i held a memorial and only 10 people showed up. i feel bad that i did not reach out to her more. friends can reach out and even if the person rebuffs you you just keep reaching out. her father had also committed suicide. for people advice who are on the edge? the way to out is go. it to have an honest conversation with the person. sometimes it doesn't the case of your

friend. this is a complicated condition driven by underlying illness. the advice is to do what you can. have an honest conversation. try to get them to seek special help. sometimes you have to go with them to get them to seek care. state, the in that illness affects your judgment. you are not thinking rationally. you are in such pain that you think the only way out is to die. it is really important to try to get them to get help. they can't recover and they will recover from that. i am sorry about the loss of your friend. it is not your fault. those who are left behind feel guilty but you should not. it is not your fault and it is important to know that. >> we are running short on time.

go ahead with your question. that i had a say friend and i feel like it is all that she passed away from suicide. i love her but i miss her and i feel like it is all my fault. >> i would say this to you. i am sorry about the loss of your friend. there are services and educational programs. you may want to reach out and get involved. there are support groups. also something called international survivors of suicide that our foundation hosts. there are healing conferences. if you go to the website you can find that.

you are realize that not alone. there are so many people like you who have experienced the same thing. that feeling of connection with other survivors will help you. it is not your fault. you may want to reach out for some of those programs. >> you spoke about advocating congress for more money and more support. where are they on that? it is starting. it is taking time. we had some champions in the house, the mental health caucus which is chaired by grace napolitano. a suicideted prevention task force within the house. that is starting to get some momentum. it is the first time we have ever had that. it has bipartisan support.

we have some gym is. they know we need an investment in research. we will work hard to get that. as well as the prevention manyams, cdc, there are so places in our federal government that we need to invest in if we are going to reduce suicide. we need to make the investment. it must be commensurate with the size of the problem. afsp.org is the website. sunday night on q&a, cbs news chief white house correspondent talks about his book mr. trump's wild ride. >> is not just about partisanship. it transcends party. asescribe donald trump proto-partisan. he is bigger than partisanship.

there is an emotional dynamo that he spins within people. he doesn't intentionally, sometimes he doesn't know he is doing it. influencingnd it is every aspect of american life. politics, inomics, ways you detected the way journalists in iraq this ongoing story. sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. what does it mean to be american? question.is year's we are asking middle school and high school students to answer it by producing a short documentary about a constitutional right, national characteristic, or historical event and talk about how it defines the american experience. we are awarding $100,000 in total cash prizes including a grand prize of $5,000. this year's deadline is january 20, 2019.

for more information, go to our website. >> here at the national press club hosting stephanie schriock, president of the pro-choice political action committee and was list. -- emily's list. she's when review the democratic pro-choice female congressional candidates. to watch out of the midterm elections in november. >> i'm andrea edney from bloomberg news i'm the 111th president of the national press club. we are so pleased to welcome today's headliner stephanie schriock, president of the political action committee emily's list, a group that aims to elect more pro-choice democratic female candidates to national, state, and local office. i would like to remind you today that if you are tweeting, we are press club d.c. and the