Our mission on Leaving The Valley is to help reduce suicides. You simply cannot have a conversation about suicide prevention and not talk about weapons. Accessibility of a firearm leads to an increased risk of suicide. Over half of all suicides occur with a firearm.  Additionally, the majority of deaths caused by guns are suicide (Not homicides.) This risk exists whether someone is a gun-owner, lives in a home with a gun, or is able to gain access to a firearm at a gun range, for example.

The decision to end one’s life is often impulsive. Suicide is not caused by any one thing, but is frequently the culmination of multiple issues.  The risk of suicide is greater when those issues are left untreated.  When a firearm is accessible, people may impulsively use it in a suicide attempt. When a weapon is used in a suicide attempt, it is almost always lethal.  There are a number of simple ways that we can reduce the risk of suicide by guns.  Securing weapons in a safe, storing ammo and guns separately, and using gunlocks are simple ways to reduce the risk of a firearm being used in a suicide attempt.  For more on this, check out our latest blog, “Gunlocks Help Prevent Suicide.”