Suicide Prevention Week Aims at Students
The university wants resources available for distressed students. Photo courtesy flickr.com/stevec77By Brandon Mulder
For the past ten years, Travis County has had the highest suicide rate of all Texas metropolitan areas. College students are a particularly vulnerable group. That’s why this week the University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center is holding its fourth annual Suicide Prevention Week.
The center’s Marian Trattner says suicides are the second leading cause of death nationwide for college students.
“The statistical average of suicide is seven per 100,000 students,” Trattner said. “Given our population of 50,000 students, that means that we’ll see an average of three students a year who have died by suicide.”
Trattner’s goal is to lessen the stigma around mental illness. Workshops and seminars go through Friday.
