Promoting Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Through Strategic Policy and Advocacy
AFSP’s Policy and Advocacy Office in Washington, D.C., galvanizes a nationwide network of Volunteer Advocates each year, who stand up for bills and legislation we know can make a difference. By sharing our unified voice through AFSP’s online Action Center, and attending events like Advocacy Action Days and the annual Advocacy Forum, anyone can play a role in saving lives.
Advancing Priorities
Updated every two years, AFSP’s Public Policy Priorities are used by advocates, partners, and public officials at all levels of government to identify policy opportunities to better promote suicide prevention and improve mental health.
Services and Care Lethal Means Safety Research and Infrastructure Disproportionately Affected Communities and Populations
This year’s newly updated priorities designate Lethal Means Safety as a new pillar encompassing Firearms (suicide prevention) and Architectural Barriers and Structures, and includes a new focus on Medications, Toxic Chemicals, and Other Substances, which can increase suicide risk if accessible to people with risk factors for suicide.
AFSP also expanded its priority areas to include Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals within the pillar Disproportionately Affected Communities and Populations, in alignment with data indicating suicide is a leading cause of preventable maternal mortality and its associated health disparities.
Taking Action
In 2025, AFSP rebranded our signature state advocacy events as Advocacy Action Days. Formerly State Capitol Days, the new Advocacy Action Day event format brings a renewed focus to actionable ways advocates can support AFSP’s top state policy priorities, share their lived experience and personal stories with public officials, and influence meaningful policy changes to prevent suicide. AFSP chapters held 45 Advocacy Action Day events in state capitals across the country and celebrated 29 bills being enacted that were directly supported by these events.
We also launched the revamped Advocacy Ambassador Program, a new opportunity for experienced volunteers leading suicide prevention policy and advocacy in their states. With expanded training and engagement opportunities, the program has grown by over 50%, building a stronger community of advocates to advance AFSP’s mission.
Notable Policy & Advocacy Wins
Among the most notable advocacy successes of this past year, the Arkansas Chapter celebrated the passage of Arkansas Act 106 (HB 1067) “Concerning Firearm Hold Agreements; And to Provide Civil Immunity to a Federal Firearms Licensee Who Agrees to Hold a Firearm for an Individual.” The chapter led advocacy efforts by building relationships with organizations throughout the state, meeting with state legislators, and testifying at committee hearings, which culminated in the new law that will provide more options for secure, out-of-home firearms storage across the state. AFSP advocates were also instrumental in passing the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach (CVSO) Act, a central focus of the 2023 Advocacy Forum. This new federal law creates a grant program administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs to support tribal and county Veterans Service Officers (VSOs), who assist Veterans and their families in accessing service-connected benefits. The program prioritizes grant awards to areas with a critical shortage of county or tribal VSOs, areas with high rates of suicide among veterans, and areas with high numbers of referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line.
