Sample Letter for your Senator

The Honorable //REPRESENTATIVES NAME//
//ADDRESS// Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear //SENATORS NAME//:

I am honored to write to you in support of Senate Bill, S. 1854, the “Stop Senior Suicide Act.” I am asking you to support this bill to ensure that federal agencies and non-profit organizations may develop a unified plan to 1) address the illnesses that contribute to elderly suicide, 2) reduce barriers to appropriate mental health care, 3) make available funding for research and promising prevention strategies, and 4) modify legislative language to include older adults in other suicide prevention policy.

Older Americans are disproportionately likely to die by suicide. In 2004, 6,860 older Americans (age 60 and older) died by suicide according to a 2007 publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2004, the elderly (age 65 and older) made up only 12.4 percent of the population but accounted for 16 percent of all suicides. To compound this issue, older adults are expected to make up 20% of the nation’s population by the year 2030 increasing the burden of this problem.

Seniors covered by Medicare are required to pay a 50 percent co-pay for outpatient mental health services while they are only required to pay a 20 percent co-pay for physical health services. This barrier to service is unacceptable. One of the leading causes of suicide among the elderly is depression. Research suggests that 75% of seniors who die by suicide have seen their primary care physician within the last month of their life. It is obvious that older adults need greater access to professionals who are trained to address their complex mental conditions.

This issue is important to me because…please share your story with your senator.

I support the bill’s four primary elements. One provision improves the geriatric mental health delivery system by requiring that the HHS Secretary form an Interagency Geriatric Mental Health Planning Council to make recommendations on the integration of mental health, suicide prevention, health and aging services. It establishes grants to be provided to public or private organizations in order to plan and implement elderly suicide early intervention and prevention strategies. It enhances the Suicide Prevention Resource Center so that it can provide guidance, training and technical assistance to grantees working on elderly suicide prevention. Most importantly,

I truly appreciate your commitment to older adults and their contribution to society. Thank you for considering my request and I look forward to seeing Senate Bill 1854 read into law in the near future.

Sincerely,

INSERT YOUR NAME