All Contra Costa County public safety agencies

The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To bring awareness to this important issue, first responder agencies across the country will be participating in the seventh annual "We Remember" event.  The event is in remembrance of our brothers and sisters who have fallen to suicide, as well as to show honor and support to the family and loved ones left behind.

We are encouraging all public safety agencies to participate on Friday, May 21, 2021 at 9:00 pm by staging your emergency vehicles outside or in a safe location with code 3 lights on for a moment of silence for one minute.

We would also like to ask those that participate to take photos or video of their efforts and share them to your social media sites and also to info@cccpsss.com with the subject "We Remember". Our goal is to share the collected media to those families and loved ones who have lost a first responder to suicide.

This event may attract media attention and below are some talking points to share.

• The purpose of the We Remember is to remember our brothers and sisters who have taken their lives and to show honor and support to the family members left behind.
• Statistics on first responder death by suicide, suicidal ideation and attempts are shown to be higher than the general public.
• Awareness and education play a pivotal role in reducing the effects of the stressful nature of first responders.