SB 234 Promotes Suicide Prevention Lifeline On Student IDs
Garnering strong support at the State House is SB 234, a bill requiring all student identification cards to include the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Read a full update HERE
Motivated by the growing problem of teen suicide in New Hampshire and nationally, and a suggestion by Gov. Chris Sununu, Sen. Ruth Ward (R-Stoddard), Chair of the Education Committee, sponsored SB 234 – a bill that requires all student ID cards to include the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Supporters say the bill is an efficient way to make an important prevention resource immediately available to young people experiencing a mental health crisis. The Lifeline number is 800-273-8255.
The NH House will soon vote on SB234, a bill that is backed by Gov. Sununu. In his most recent letter to the House Education Committee, Sununu noted that a number of states - including Illinois, South Carolina, California and Arizona – have already passed similar legislation. To read Gov. Sununu’s letter of support for SB234, click here:
https://www.governor.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt336/files/documents/20220405-sb234-support.pdf
Data highlighted in the State Suicide Prevention Plan indicates that suicide death rates in NH are approximately 35% higher than the national rate (19.27 per 100,000 in NH compared to 14.21 per 100,000 nationally). The Granite State ranks 12th in the country for suicide deaths, and while suicide is the 8th leading cause of death across all Granite State residents, it is the 2nd leading cause of death for those aged 10-44.
For more statistics on the problem of teen suicide in NH, see the 2021 State Suicide Prevention Plan: https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs//bchs/spc/documents/2021-suicide-prevention-plan.pdf
Sununu and Senator Ward had also worked together on another bill to advance suicide prevention through schools. SB282, which was signed into law in 2019, required all schools, public and private, to develop policies on suicide prevention, risk assessment, and response to suicide incidents, as well as to offer training to all staff.
SB234 does not require schools to issue identification cards to students; it applies only to schools and higher education institutions, public or private, that already issue IDs.
Under the legislation, the phone number for the national suicide prevention lifeline will be labeled the “Mental Health Support Line.”
The national lifeline, which is staffed 24-hours/day, 365-days a year, connects callers to a network of over 180 local- and state-funded crisis centers located across the United States. According to the Lifeline website, “Counselors at these local crisis centers answer calls and [online] chats from people in distress that the Lifeline receives every day. The Lifeline’s crisis centers provide the specialized care of a local community with the support of a national network.”
This year, this mental health crisis resource will gain a higher profile when 988, a new three-digit dialing code, rolls out nationally on July 16, 2022. Read more about that rollout here. Dialing 988 will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Existing telephone numbers will continue to operate, according to a statement by the Federal Communications Commission, which is overseeing the national rollout.
The 988 rollout will require callers in many states, including New Hampshire, to dial the area code for in-state calls.But supporters believe that minor inconvenience could save lives.