Every 18 minutes, someone in the United States dies by suicide, which is the third leading cause of death among people ages 15-24. In some cases, parents of children who died by suicide do not know that they were contemplating taking their own life until it is too late.

While much is being done to help prevent future suicides, many teenagers are not properly educated about the ways to prevent this tragedy – and the options available to them if they are depressed are suicidal.

Thankfully, there is an organization – the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – that is working diligently to help bring awareness to the growing problem of suicide – and it needs your help.

On Thursday, May 18, beginning at 6:30 p.m., the AFSP will be holding “Casino Royale 2006,” a fundraiser to raise money for research, develop prevention initiatives and offer educational programs and conferences for survivors, mental health professionals, physicians and the public. The money will also fund the making of a film for teenagers, to help them learn about the problem and how they can get help. A similar movie was made for college students and has been very successful.

The fundraiser will be held at the Chateau Briand, 440 Old Country Road, Carle Place, and will feature a professional casino, gourmet buffet dinner, open bar, and silent and live auctions. Items offered include a four-day stay at Canyon Ranch Spa in Lenox, MA, a signed guitar by Avril Lavigne donated by Z-100, Jet Blue tickets to anywhere they fly, and a weekend stay at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago with dinner at a top Chicago restaurant.

Admission to the event carries a donation of $150 and entitles you to dinner, drinks and the opportunity to participate in the auction. If you have any questions about this event, call Dale Camhi at 869-4215 or e-mail her at dcamhi@afsp.org.

So much needs to be done to prevent another person from taking their own life. I encourage you to attend this event, where you can gamble for fun in order to stop someone else from gambling with their own life.

See you there.