New Hampshire’s 988 Lifeline Is Reducing Emergency Room Visits and Police Calls
Saving Young Lives By Calling Or Texting 988 In NH
In New Hampshire, the 911 system serves traditional police, fire, and EMS emergencies, while mental health and suicide crises are primarily diverted to the state's dedicated NH Rapid Response access line or the national 988 lifeline. This approach has drastically reduced unnecessary law enforcement deployments and emergency room visits. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, you can reach out for free, 24/7 help by calling or texting 988, or directly contacting the NH Rapid Response Access Point at 1-833-710-6477. Always dial 911 for an immediate threat to life or safety
Suicide remains a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in the US.1,2 In July 2022, the US launched the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, replacing the 10-digit 1-800-273-TALK number with a 3-digit number and investing more than $1.5 billion to expand crisis center capacity and workforce nationwide.3 In the subsequent 3 years, contacts to the lifeline more than doubled,4 with disproportionately higher use among adolescents and young adults.5
A Million In May: Donate To The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Long-Term Survivors of Suicide Loss Summit
For people who have lost someone to suicide, grief is complex. For many, it deepens and evolves over time, as does the need for community, understanding, and connection.
That’s why AFSP hosts the Long-Term Survivors of Suicide Loss Summit, a special gathering for individuals five or more years beyond their loss who seek understanding, community, and healing alongside others who truly understand.
Registration is $400, to help cover the necessary expenses of running the event –– and that fee can put this healing experience out of reach for people who need it most. To donate:
Donate to A Million in May 2026
Canada’s Association for Suicide Prevention Closes As Debate Over Assisted Dying Expands
In April 2026, the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention announced that it will close its doors at the end of June “after more than four decades of national leadership in suicide prevention and life promotion.”
At the same time, debate continues in Canada around the expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), the official Canadian legal and governmental term for what critics and some advocacy groups describe more directly as Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) or euthanasia, particularly in cases involving mental illness alone.
In 2021, Canada’s Parliament passed legislation that included a “sunset clause” that would expand eligibility for MAiD to individuals suffering solely from mental illness beginning in 2023. That expansion was later delayed to 2024 and then again to 2027 as a Special Joint Committee on MAiD continues studying the issue.
Critics argue that Canada is moving toward allowing assisted death for some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens at a time when access to mental health services remains deeply strained.
For insight into how psychiatric euthanasia policies can evolve, observers often point to the Netherlands, where euthanasia for psychiatric suffering has been legal since 2002. The number of psychiatric euthanasia cases reportedly rose from two cases in 2011 to 219 in 2024. A study discussed in Psychiatric Times suggests the Netherlands has seen a rapid increase in such cases, particularly among young women. Researchers and critics have raised concerns about shorter assessment periods, broader interpretations of “irremediable suffering,” and fewer physicians overseeing more cases.
As of 2025, Canada ranks 22nd out of 28 developed countries in psychiatric bed availability and 16th in psychiatrists per capita. Canadians referred for psychiatric care can wait nearly 25 weeks for treatment. Meanwhile, access to MAiD can occur within 90 days — or sooner in some circumstances.
The reconvening of the Special Joint Committee on MAiD will give MPs and senators another opportunity to revisit the proposed expansion to individuals with mental illness. Supporters describe MAiD as a matter of autonomy and dignity. Critics argue that Canada should prioritize expanding mental health treatment, housing stability, addiction services, and suicide prevention resources before expanding access to assisted death.
The debate continues to raise profound ethical, medical, and societal questions about mental illness, suffering, autonomy, and the responsibilities of modern healthcare systems.
AFSP and the Brain Injury Association of NH Sponsor “Talk Saves Lives”, A Suicide Prevention Training, In April
On April 7th, AFSP and BIANH (Brain Injury Association of NH) sponsored a one-hour virtual training called, “Talk Saves Lives.” The training was offered at no cost to 30 participants.
“People with brain injuries and disabilities can be particularly vulnerable to suicide,” according to Steve Wade, Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of NH. “We have many programs geared toward supporting veterans who have sustained brain injuries.” For more information, visit: https://nh-veteran.com/
A few facts about suicide, a leading cause of death in the U.S.:
Ninety percent of people who died by suicide had a mental health condition at the time of their death,
Well over a million people in the U.S. each year survive a suicide attempt,
U.S. suicide rates are highest among industries including mining; quarrying oil and gas; construction; arts, entertainment and recreation; agriculture; forestry; fishing & hunting; sports & media and personal care and services.
For more information from the “Talk Saves Lives” training, click on the link below.
The Connection Between Suicide and Poverty: Rethinking Suicide Prevention
Decades of research shows that unemployment, low income, high debt, unstable housing, and food insecurity make people more likely to kill themselves.
Conversely, things that bring down people’s cost of living — such as increasing the minimum wage, providing food assistance, offering tax credits, and expanding health insurance coverage — are linked to lower suicide rates.
It makes sense. If someone can cover their basic needs, their life will feel better.
Other countries have been incorporating this understanding into their efforts for some time. But because suicide prevention in the U.S. has historically been seen as a medical issue — the responsibility of clinicians who can provide medication or therapy — economic solutions are frequently left out of the equation.
Some advocates and people with suicidal experiences say traditional approaches to suicide prevention haven’t succeeded. For decades, the U.S. has had one of the highest suicide rates among high-income countries.
To move the needle, “we all need to be challenged to broaden our aperture, to broaden the lens of what is mental health,” said Benjamin Miller, a national expert in mental health policy and an adjunct professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The highest-impact interventions may not be adding crisis lines or screening more people in emergency rooms, Miller said, though those can be helpful. If he had to pick one strategy, it would be alleviating poverty.
That “allows us to reconcile and solve for these conditions that put people in places of despair,” he said. “I don’t know what stronger intervention one could possibly have.”
For more information on the NH Coalition for Suicide Prevention, visit: www.zerosuicidesnh.org.