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California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order aimed at supporting men and boys and improving mental health outcomes to help lower suicide rates and reduce isolation among young men.
The order directs state health and welfare agencies to recommend ways to address suicide rates among young men and to help them seek services to improve their mental health and well-being. It also requires that states connect with education and career opportunities.
“Too many young men and boys are struggling with silence — being separated from their community, opportunities, and even their families,” the Democrat news said in a statement. “This action is to turn it around. It is to show all young people that he is important, and there is a path for him of purpose, dignity, work and real connection.”
The issue has focused on Democrats since last year’s election. The party lost a young man to President Donald Trump, who framed much of its campaign as a pitch for men who were corned in the country’s economy, culture and political system. According to the Associated Press Voting, a survey of over 120,000 voters, men under 30 supported Trump, while Democrat Joe Biden had gained a similar share of the group four years ago.
A potential presidential candidate for 2028, Newsom spoke about the need to support men and boys on his podcast. Most of his guests, including Maga figures, democratic politicians and book authors, were men.
He will release an episode Wednesday with Richard Reeves, founder and chairman of the American Institute of Juveniles, a group that studies issues that affect men’s well-being, discussing what can be done to improve their needs. Newsom said at the beginning of the episode that it is an important issue to address, not just discuss, as a political hurdle for the Democrats.
“You may have noticed a theme when you tune into a podcast, which is a theme that continues to appear around men and boys,” Newsmom said. “What is happening with our men and boys? What we feel increasingly isolated and more is freed, mutilated and depressed.”
Newsom’s order calls for more men and boys to serve the community through volunteer programs and support the pathways to help more boys become teachers and school counselors. State agencies should also recommend ways to participate in state career education and training programs for more young men, as well as initiatives to improve student outcomes. Authorities must provide updates within two months.
Men make up half the population, but make up 80% of the U.S. suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC, the US suicide mortality rate for men and boys in 2023 (mortem rate per 100,000 people per 100,000) was 22.7, about four times that of women and girls.
California had one of the lowest suicide rates in the country in 2023, according to the CDC. The suicide mortality rate was approximately 10.2, compared with a 14.1 percentage across the US.
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