Sen. Nelson honored for legislation

Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) was honored Thursday by the Texas Suicide Prevention Council for her work on mental health and suicide prevention.

Nelson was the senate sponsor for House Bill 1067, which gives local communities a way of sharing timely data on suicide deaths. The data does not include the names of the individuals but does include other types of information, such as race or national origin, gender, zip code, school or college attended, military status, method used and date of death.

The legislation, which was authored by Rep. Elliott Naishtat, will allow and encourage local health authorities to enter into memorandums of understanding to share suicide data. 

“Currently, the most recent publicly available suicide death data is several years old,” Nelson said. “Allowing local governments to share timely information with partners in their community will present opportunities for intervention strategies to prevent suicide contagions and clusters from forming in an area.”

Naishtat also received an award for the legislation.

Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in Texas, according Nelson’s office, the third-leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds, and the second-leading cause among college students. Suicide claimed 13,656 lives in Texas from 2000 to 2005.

“We are particularly appreciative of the work Senator Nelson and Representative Naishtat did with the support of Mental Health America of Texas to pass H.B. 1067," said Merily Keller, founding board member of the Suicide Prevention Council.

 This year, Nelson also passed a bill directing the Department of State Health Services to develop a veterans mental health program that requires peer-to-peer counseling.

“It is sad to see some of our heroes returning from their tours with emotional wounds from the battlefield,” Nelson said. “Who better to help them cope than another veteran who can relate to their experiences? I am eager to see this program get up and running.”

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