Washington, DC - In an effort to help The Samaritans of Rhode Island save lives, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced that the agency will receive over $200,000 in congressional funding he secured in a 2008 spending bill to take its Suicide Prevention Initiative statewide. The Samaritans will use this congressional appropriation to help extend its suicide prevention message and recruit additional volunteers.

According to a new report issued earlier this month by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the rate of suicide in the United States is increasing for the first time in a decade. There were 32,637 suicides nationwide in 2005, a rate of 11 per 100,000 people. And the biggest increase was among middle-aged white men and women, according to the study.

"Suicides are more common than homicides. No one should ever feel so hopeless that they have no place left to turn. The Samaritans of Rhode Island offers free, anonymous support services for anyone who needs it. This federal funding will help ensure that more people have access to this important lifeline," said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee.

The Samaritans have trained more than 1,200 Crisis Hotline/Listening Line volunteers, assisted more than 500,000 callers, and reached more than 40,000 visitors through its website.

"I am grateful to Senator Reed for his steadfast support of The Samaritans. The federal funding he secured will help us target our messages to those communities where callers are least likely to have access to mental health treatment. It will also enable us to raise awareness of the presence of our hotline volunteers when family, friends, and professionals are not available," said William A. Catelli Jr., The Samaritans Board President.

Since 1977, The Samaritans has served as a suicide prevention resource for Rhode Islanders. The agency's most well-known program is its Crisis Hotline/Listening Line, but it also provides education in school and community settings as well as a support groups exclusively dedicated to those who have lost a loved one to suicide. Unique among any other suicide prevention hotline, The Samaritans of Rhode Island is a program of dedicated Rhode Islanders helping other Rhode Islanders.