Sarah Flinspach of the National Council for Behavioral Health submitted this blog post as part of our Recovery Month 2018 advocacy efforts.
In the wake of the high-profile deaths by suicide earlier this year of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and designer Kate Spade, calls to crisis centers skyrocketed. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255), which answered 12 million calls between 2005 and 2017, expects to answer another 12 million calls over the next four years.
Arizona Lifeline centers Crisis Response Network and La Frontera Empact, both National Council members, saw their calls increase from 2,800 in June 2017 to more than 4,400 calls this past June…
‘Most people who are struggling never make it to the hospital or clinic,” Bart Andrews of BHR pointed out. “With a crisis line, there is a low barrier to get help. In a 20- to 30-minute phone call, you can have a tremendous impact on someone’s life.’
Read more about how your organization can become part of the national movement to prevent suicide. Answer the call. Join the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
To learn more about best practices for youth suicide prevention, check out our upcoming webinar: Children and Adolescents: Best Practices for Suicide Prevention on Tuesday, September 18th at 2:00pm ET.
Questions about the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline?
Contact Sarah Flinspach
Project Coordinator
National Council for Behavioral Health
1400 K Street NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005
Direct: (202) 629-5784
#suicideprevention #recoverymonth