Governor Chris Sununu has signed the Jason Dickey Suicide Prevention Act, which requires all student identification cards in New Hampshire to include the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The bill was signed August 3, 2022. The governor commended the activism for greater mental health funding by the family of Jason Dickey, a high school student who died by suicide, and prime sponsor NH State Senator Ruth Ward, pictured to the left of Gov. Sununu.

Governor Sununu congratulates Martha and Paul Dickey at his signing of the Jason Dickey Suicide Prevention Act on August 3, 2022. The bill requires every public school ID in NH to include the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. The law is n

Motivated by the growing problem of teen suicide in New Hampshire and nationally, the NH state legislature has moved swiftly to pass a bill requiring 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 easily available to young people experiencing a mental health crisis. The Lifeline number is 800-273-8255.

The school ID bill arose from a suggestion by Gov. Chris Sununu to Sen. Ruth Ward (R-Stoddard), Chair of the NH Senate Education Committee, who became the prime sponsor of SB 234, which is titled the Jason Dickey Suicide Prevention Act.

The bill won easy approval in both chambers of the legislature and is now on its way to being signed into law by Gov. Sununu. The bill was amended to honor the memory of Jason Dickey, a 19-year-old Boscawen man who took his life in 2017. Jason’s parents, Martha and Paul, have been visible and effective advocates for legislation to improve suicide prevention resources, and testified in support of the bill.

In written testimony to the NH House Education Committee, the governor 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

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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. Read more about the Jason Dickey legislation.: https://zerosuicidesnh.org/blog/update-the-new-jason-dickey-suicide-prevention-act-in-new-hampshire

NEWS NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE, SB 234, STATE SUICIDE PREVENTION PLAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NAMI

Update: The new Jason Dickey Suicide Prevention Act in New Hampshire