World Suicide Prevention Day

Man leaning on a wall

Photo by Barry Weatherall on Unsplash

Before joining medical equipment company Apria Healthcare, Jennifer Fendley Salter worked as a patient care representative for Baptist Healthcare in Pensacola, FL. In her personal life, Jennifer Fendley Salter is actively involved in mental health awareness campaigns based in and around her home in Milton, FL. She has also supported campaigns for suicide prevention. 

Suicide is one of the leading causes of violent death worldwide. To raise awareness of suicide prevention initiatives and educate the public on how to recognize signs of suicidal ideation, the World Health Organization and the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) named September 10 as World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) in 2003. Since the first WSPD, more than 70 countries have hosted conferences and campaigns on the one-day event. 

WSPD is also the kick-off date for the IASP fundraiser Cycle Around the Globe. The event invites participants to collectively ride the circumference of the Earth, roughly 24,000 miles, within one month. In 2018, more than 250 participants from around the world cycled over 300,000 miles, more than 15 times the target goal.