In the next year, nearly twice as many people will die at their own hands as from homicides.

An estimated 30,727 people will kill themselves in the United States next year, according to Carnegie Mellon University's www.deathriskrankings.com Web site, compared with an estimated 16,358 homicides.

That's nearly four self-inflicted deaths every hour, and it brings fresh urgency to the national Suicide Prevention Week, being held this year from Sunday to Sept. 12.

Locally, CONTACT Pittsburgh, which runs the region's crisis and suicide hotline, 412-820-4357, will expand its training for counselors by working with members of the Army Reserve in Moon, said James Doyle, director of outreach and volunteer recruitment.

In addition, the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will hold a charity walk at the North Park Cherry Grove area from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Sept. 12. Those wanting more information can check the foundation's Web site, http://afsp.donordrive.com.

CONTACT Pittsburgh is the lead agency for Western Pennsylvania in conducting suicide counseling for caregivers under the ASIST program, a highly-regarded technique that stands for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, developed by LivingWorks Education in Calgary, Canada.

The agency already has trained 145 caregivers in the program, Mr. Doyle said, and will add another 30 with the Army Reserve sessions.

While suicide rates have declined over the past 20 years in America, they have remained stubbornly steady for middle-aged people, ages 35 to 64. Firearms remain far and away the leading cause of suicides, and men kill themselves at a rate four times higher than women.

The depressed economy adds stress for those who are vulnerable to suicidal thoughts, added Thomas Joiner, a Florida State University expert who studies suicide trends. While suicide is still relatively rare, there are a "handful of people who take these stresses really hard, probably because of predispositions to mood disorders, and they get ill enough where they're not thinking like anybody else." he said.