Lawmakers hear from youth suicide prevention advocates

Lawmakers hear from youth suicide prevention advocates June 18, 2025

Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, speaks about youth suicide during Wednesday’s meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services, which was held at The Madison Event Center in CovingtonA high-res version is available here.

COVINGTON — Jaimee Kelley Seitz is one of several parents in Kentucky who have lost their children to suicide. She, and other youth suicide prevention advocates, testified Wednesday before the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services.

The committee met at The Madison Event Center in Covington as part of a full day of committee hearings in Northern Kentucky.

Seitz’s daughter, Audree Heine, committed suicide when she was 13 years old, and Seitz said her goal moving forward is to raise awareness so no other mother will have to go through the same grief.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell Audree’s story because it’s important to know that this is not an isolated situation, and it’s a situation that needs our attention and a plan and action to protect our children,” she said.

Seitz said parents often think they know how their children are feeling and what they are thinking, but she was not aware her daughter suffered from mental illness.

Others testified about ongoing efforts to address youth mental health and prevent suicide.

Beck Whipple, suicide prevention coordinator for the state Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities and a suicide attempt survivor, said his department uses data to drive decisions on prevention, intervention, and postvention strategies.

Whipple testified that suicide deaths happen more often with males, but young female deaths are on the rise.

“As we look these numbers, we must never forget that each of those numbers represent a Kentucky child who is still loved and deeply, deeply missed. As we hold on to those numbers, we hold those families, those communities and their friends as well,” he said.

Whipple shared information from Kentucky Vital Statistics’ death certification files from 2018-2023.

In 2018, 25 children ages 8-17 committed suicide, and the number rose to 30 by 2023.

Whipple said the usage of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has been increasing, but some people – especially young people – might not trust 988 for calls, texts and chats due to tracking.

But he added that “those call takers will not ask you identifiable information. They will not ask you your age, your race, your gender. What you share is what they track.”

Committee Co-Chair Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, R-Taylor Mill, said the topic of youth suicide is difficult to discuss, but it is necessary. She said the goal of the meeting was to focus on hope that community-led suicide prevention works, that recovery is possible and that support is available.

“It’s necessary to ensure that families with children receive the protection and the resources that they need to keep their kids safe,” she said.

Sen. Keturah Herron, D-Louisville, said not talking about suicide has contributed to today’s crisis. She said legislators need to see more data about who those who commit suicide are and their modes and methods to better understand the issues. She expressed concern about the role firearms play in some cases.

Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, asked what legislators could do to this upcoming session to significantly impact the suicide-by-firearms rate in Kentucky.

Marcie Timmerman, education and outreach liaison for Mental Health America of Kentucky, testified that she isn’t sure there’s one law, or that law would always be the way. She said Kentucky ranks 36th in youth mental health as measured by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

“So, working on folks to just be able to understand how important that (firearms) storage is, and how important putting time between someone’s decision to direct suicide and their access to the most lethal means. That’s what CALM (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means) really focuses on,” she said.

Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, said he has not seen enough information getting out to students and parents through a cooperative and collaborative approach.

“I’ve been in mental health services for 10 years, and we’ve been trying to put more information to not only the kids, but also the parents,” he said.

He said he wants to follow up with Jon Akers, executive director of the Kentucky Center for School Safety, about using digital methods and applications to provide students with resources on mental health and suicide prevention.

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https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/publicservices/pio/release.html#HealthServices-061825