Editor’s note: The following story includes discussions of suicide and sexual abuse.
Ashley Judd and Aloe Blacc, who’ve both been touched by the suicide of a loved one, visited the White House on Tuesday (April 23) to help the White House unveil its new national strategy to prevent suicide.
“As we all know, suicide affects everyone, it doesn’t matter your age, race, gender or where you live, it impacts all of us and sadly suicide and suicidal thoughts and actions have really increased over the past several years,” said Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, who hosted the event.
Emhoff began his remarks by acknowledging Judd, whose mother country star Naomi Judd died almost two years ago by suicide and Blacc, whose close friend and collaborator EDM star Tim Bergling (aka Avicii) died by suicide in 2018. Emhoff noted that 132 people die by suicide every day and that “we’re here today because we know that we can and will change this. Suicide is preventable and the president and vice president have been hard at work taking action, action to mitigate and prevent suicide.”
Among the actions Emhoff said the administration is taking is mobile crisis response teams, more youth suicide prevention activities, as well as increased suicide prevention efforts in schools.
Judd honored her beloved mother and described the Judds singers’ battle with mental illness, which she said was “lying to her and with great terror convinced her that it would never get better” during the discussion moderated by Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy that also featured Shelby Rowe, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Research Center. Judd spoke lovingly of her mother’s sense of humor and discovery of music as a child, but also noted that Naomi, 76, was a survivor of childhood and adult sexual violence who became a nurse and then a Grammy-winning country icon.
“She also lived most of her life with an untreated and undiagnosed mental illness that lied to her and stole from her and it stole from our family and she deserved better,” said Judd, who noted that she suffered from childhood depression and suicidal ideation after being molested when she was seven-years-old. “But I had a different experience because I went to treatment in 2006 for unresolved childhood grief and sexual trauma and I’ve been in good recovery for 18 years and I’ve had a different outcome than my mother.”
What Ashley Judd said she carries with her now is a message of hope and recovery.
Blacc said he was on the dais because he has a strong belief in the “tremendous power of music to amplify these important messages” and because he’s learned to stand up for friends who self-harmed and lived as well as those who’ve not survived. “It’s important for all of us to recognize the power that we have,” he said. “So in knowing someone who may be going through a traumatic time and just being a stand for them could make the big difference.”
He encouraged everyone in the room and watching to recognize the positive role we can play in other people’s lives. “The more we can recognize and see and offer our friends and our family members that moment to say, ‘I need your help’ and you know it makes me think about those moments where you get the phone call and a friend of yours has committed self-harm and you think, ‘when was the last time I called? When was the last time I texted?’”
The singer urged everyone to search for a “moment of joy” when they reach out to friends in crisis, including memories that spark laughter or a song, as well as to remind people that they are “the light.” Blacc said, “there’s no such thing as too much love. Let’s give as much as we can,” he added, leading the assembled guests in the chorus from “This Little Light of Mine.”
The administration’s new 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention — accompanied by the first-ever federal action plan — identifies 200 different actions that will be implemented and evaluated over the next three years. Among those actions are: identifying ways to address substance use and suicide risk together in the clinical setting, funding a mobile crisis locator for use by 988 crisis centers, increasing support for survivors of suicide loss and others whose lives have been impacted by suicide, and evaluating promising community-based suicide prevention strategies.
Watch a video of the event below.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
