suicide

Kai Koerber was a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High during the 2018 massacre. Seeing his peers — and himself — struggle with returning to normal, he says he wanted to do something to help people manage emotions.

Residents can make video calls with trained counselors who use American Sign Language by clicking on the "ASL Now" button on the website or by dialing 1-800-273-TALK.

For rural Americans, who live in areas often short of mental health services and die by suicide at a far higher rate than urbanites, the federally mandated crisis phone line is one of the few options to connect with a crisis counselor.

"I know it's complicated, I really do. But we have to be able to do something," says a Pasco County mom whose 21-year-old son shot himself a year ago.

In the year since the 10-digit lifeline changed to 988, one South Florida nonprofit has seen a 50% increase in calls. Lack of affordable housing and the pandemic are among the drivers.

Ahead of the new school year, AdventHealth is seeing an uptick in children and teens seeking help for anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and self-harm behavior.

It's clear the suicide hotline, a network of more than 200 state and local call centers, faces challenges, including public mistrust and confusion. It’s also clear it needs federal and state funding to be sustainable.

The three-digit number was launched to make it easier for people in crisis to access help. Crisis Center CEO Clara Reynolds says the spike in calls suggests mental health challenges persist for many.

The three-digit suicide prevention lifeline went live a year ago. More work is needed on the 988 system, but the first year has gone more smoothly than many expected.

Language has always evolved, and new words have always popped up. In this case, words were created within a digital setting to evade rules and are permeating spoken language, especially among youths.