Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the USA, with more than twice as many suicides as homicides.

Do you think there should be a three-digit telephone code for help with suicidal thoughts, just as there’s a three-digit number (911) in the USA for emergencies?

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free service. In 2018, the hotline received 2.2 million calls. Its phone number is 1–800–273–8255. Would more calls be made and more lives saved if the phone number was easier to remember, such as 988?

The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (H.R. 4194) of 2019 is a bipartisan bill in the US Congress that would make 988 the nationwide telephone number for suicidal counseling. The bill has thus far attracted 52 co-sponsors (29 Democrats and 23 Republicans) and now awaits a potential vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Read the text of the bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4194/text

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a nonpartisan organization and the largest grassroots mental health organization in the USA.

Although suicide prevention is important throughout the year, NAMI says, “Suicide Prevention Awareness Month provides a dedicated time to come together with collective passion and strength around a difficult topic” and that, “we can all benefit from honest conversations about mental health conditions and suicide.”

NAMI encourages you to contact members of Congress to voice your support, and ask for their support, for H.R. 4194, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act.

If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273 TALK (8255)

If you’re uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can send a text NAMI at 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.

NAMI: https://nami.org