Ashley Judd helps White House unveil suicide prevention strategy

Ashley Judd spoke about the suicide of her mother, Wynonna... — Ashley Judd spoke about the suicide of her mother, Wynonna Judd, at the White House. Credit: AP / Susan Walsh

By The Associated PressUpdated April 25, 2024

Actor Ashley Judd and singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc, who both lost loved ones to suicide, on Tuesday helped the Biden administration promote its new national strategy to prevent suicide.

Judd's mother, country star Naomi Judd, died nearly two years ago. Blacc's frequent collaborator, Tim Bergling, died in 2018.

Ashley Judd and Blacc both were on hand as Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, helped unveil the administration's blueprint for reducing suicides in the United States. Some 132 people a day kill themselves, he said.

“We’re here today because we know that we can and will change this,” Emhoff said. “Suicide is preventable.”

Judd's mother had lived most of her 76 years with an untreated sickness and, on the day she died, “the disease of mental illness was lying to her," Ashley Judd said during a discussion moderated by Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy with Blacc and Shelby Rowe, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

“She deserved better,” Judd said about her mother. Judd said she also has suffered from depression and has had a different outcome because of treatment.

“I carry a message of hope,” she said.

Ashley Judd, left, listens to Shelby Rowe, right, Executive Director... — Ashley Judd, left, listens to Shelby Rowe, right, Executive Director of the Suicide Prevention Research Center, during an event on the White House complex in Washington, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, with notable suicide prevention advocates. The White House held the event on the day they released the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention to highlight efforts to tackle the mental health crisis and beat the overdose crisis. Credit: AP/Susan Walsh

Asked what people can do to help someone in crisis, Rowe said people shouldn't worry about “if you're saying the right thing. Just say something and show up.”

Blacc suggested that people offer a “moment of joy” when they do reach out, such as a memory that sparks laughter or a song. He also encouraged people to remember that they are “the light.”

“There's no such thing as too much love. Let's give as much as we can," he said, before he led the audience in singing the chorus from “This Little Light of Mine.”