By Tom Perumean | KTAR.com
(Editor’s note: The bill is especially meaningful to Rose Law Group Senior Reporter/Writer Phil Riske whose grandson committed suicide this past weekend.)
The number of people taking their own lives in Arizona is on the rise. In 2017, Arizona ranked No. 12 in the nation for the number of suicides with more than 13,000 across the state.
More than four times as many people die by suicide than by homicide and more people died by suicide in Arizona last year than by opioid overdose. The youngest person to die by suicide in Arizona was 9 years old.
In order to address this epi demic, a group of Arizona lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require officials who work with grades six through 12 at state public and charter schools to undergo suicide prevention training.