While Colorado’s average suicide rate has declined 6.5 percent in the past decade, the state still has the sixth-highest suicide rate in the nation. In 2007, more lives were lost to suicide in Colorado – 805 – than in motor vehicle accidents or from illnesses such as diabetes, pneumonia or breast cancer. And suicide remains the second-leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults in Colorado.

A new report, “Preventing Suicide in Colorado – Progress Achieved & Goals for the Future,” was issued jointly by Mental Health America of Colorado and The Colorado Trust. The report updates both the state’s 1998 Suicide Prevention and Intervention Plan to address Colorado’s historically high suicide rate, as well as The Trust’s 2002 report Suicide in Colorado, which documented the problem of suicide across the state and identified suicide-prevention resources.

This report details key facts and figures about the suicide rate in Colorado, many of the prevention achievements in the past 10 years and recommendations to strengthen suicide prevention and awareness efforts into the future.