FACTS ABOUT SUICIDE

• Every 17 minutes someone in the U.S. will take his or her own life.

• Over 30,000 suicides are reported in this country each year, and it is estimated that there are 240 to 600 thousand attempted suicides annually.

• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people. The incidence of suicide among teenagers and young adults has nearly tripled in the past three decades.

• The suicide rate is higher for the elderly than for any other age group in the U.S.

• Suicide occurs in every racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic group.

• Each suicide intimately affects six other people -- family members, friends, co-workers. There are approximately 2.6 million suicide survivors in the U.S., and the number grows by 180,000 each year.