Merily Keller鈥檚 youngest son died by suicide in 2000, while she was working on a Master鈥檚 Degree in Public Health at UT Austin. Since then, she has worked in suicide prevention. She鈥檚 the program director for.
KUT put the question to Keller: How does the suicide prevention community see itself fitting into the recent discussions nationally and in Texas about gun regulation?
A few statistics on suicides in Texas:
- From 2009 to 2013, the rate of suicide across all ages in Texas was 11.6 per 100,000 people, or 14,579 people 鈥� the most common method being through the use of firearms.
- In 2013, 58 percent of suicides in Texas used firearms.
Keller urges those who need to talk or are concerned about someone to call 1-800-273-TALK, visit or download the Suicide Safer Home for iOS devices.
