9/10/2013: America Spotlights Suicide -- The Terrorist That Claims More Than 4,000 Teen Lives Every Year. 

OneHope Goes on the Offensive with Native American Teen Suicide Prevention Campaign that Includes Award-Winning Short Film Starring Newest X-Man

Contact: Calea Bakke, 954-975­-7777 ext 1149

POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Aug. 29, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- One day before Americans pause to remember the more than 3,000 innocent Americans who were killed on 9/11, they are asked to remember the 4,600 teenagers whose lives are stolen by suicide each year.

FACT: Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among Native American young people
(ages 15-24). That's 2.5 times the rate of other American teens. (Center for Native American Youth)

To bring hope to Native American teens and reduce this alarming trend, One Hope -- an international ministry that researches the daily lives of youth and then offers customized, culturally-relevant Bible outreach and hope to them -- is launching a Native American Teen Suicide Prevention campaign Sept. 10, 2013, coinciding with the World Health Organization's Suicide Awareness Day. One Hope's Native American Teen Suicide Prevention Campaign will include:

• One-on-one outreach to teens on Native American reservations
   
• RISE Book of Hope -- a scripture book designed to engage and speak to the heartfelt needs of children and youth within Native American cultures
   
• An award-winning short film, Running Deer, produced by Toy Gun Films and starring Booboo Stewart, the newest X-Man in the upcoming Days of Future Past (May 2014)

"Running Deer is inspiring a new generation of Native Americans to really see they have options and do not have to simply accept their circumstances on the reservations," said Booboo Stewart.

One Hope's Native American Suicide Campaign is bolstered by a 4-year study of teens in 44 countries on 5 continents. The Attitudes and Behavior of Youth (ABY) study gets into the minds, hearts, and lives of teens to maximize ministry efforts. "The ABY research helps us to identify the heartfelt needs of youth. We use it to work with strategic partners to develop a culture-specific program to engage Native American teens who desperately need to know that they can have hope in life...that suicide is is not their only choice to freedom from their pain," said Rob Hoskins, president of OneHope.

Brittany, a member of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Native American community is thrilled to hear about OneHope outreach to Native Americans. "Kids feel like nobody cares about them or loves them," said Brittany who became a meth addict as a teen and tried to kill herself by overdosing. Brittany credits the love of her adoptive parents and God, as well as a OneHope event for turning her life around. "I was given The Book of Hope which showed me that there were other Native Americans like me who struggle with drugs and alcohol and who never really felt they had a hope or a future until they discovered God."

The launch of OneHope's Native American suicide prevention effort will coincide with National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 8-14, 2013). The film, Running Deer, is available for download now.

For information and interviews regarding OneHope's Native American suicide prevention effort or ABY research contact Calea Bakke at (954) 975-7777 ex. 1149 or via email at caleabakke@onehope.net.

For more information about OneHope, visit www.OneHope.net.