Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Harry Reid Designates Suicide Survivors Day

Harry Reid
Pol Light Moment #143 happened on May 11, 1999, when Harry Reid introduced a Resolution to the United States Senate designating the Saturday before the American Thanksgiving as the annual "National Survivors for Prevention of Suicide Day" (Congress.gov, S. Res. 99).  Harry Reid has been a United States Senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017.

Reid's father Harry Vincent Reid was a miner and killed himself in 1972 (Biography.com, Harry Reid). Harry Reid believed his father struggled with undiagnosed depression (Suicide Prevention Resource Center, Sen. Harry Reid: A Lifetime of Service to Suicide Prevention, November 4, 2016). This personal tragedy motivated Harry Reid at the request of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to create a resolution for the US Senate to designate a National Survivors of Suicide Day.

The first observance of Suicide Survivors Day took place on November 20, 1999, and the observance continues to this day on the Saturday before the American Thanksgiving Day. The day is designed to bring people together who have had family or friends commit suicide, so that the survivors may receive comfort and encouragement from others.  The following is a video of a trailer about Reclaiming Life after Loss designed to encourage survivors of suicide.



For More Information: For more information on Survivors of Suicide Day visit these links.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.


The photo of Harry Reid is in the Public Domain.

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