Suicide Prevention

In Idaho, suicide is the 9th most common cause of death. In 2020 alone, 421 Idahoans died by suicide, according to the Department of Health and Welfare.

Last year a few hundred crisis call centers across the country replaced their 1-800 numbers with a simpler three-digit code. Since then that number, which is the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, has answered over 12,000 calls, texts and chats from people in Idaho experiencing a mental health crisis.

In July, the nation got a new three-digit suicide prevention number – 988. A new analysis found the hotline’s call volume jumped 45% in August compared to August 2021, with the number of callers roughly doubling in two states in the Mountain West.

The AgriStress Hotline is staffed 24/7, similar to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The difference is, if a farmer or rancher calls, they’re going to get a response from someone who’s trained to help agricultural workers.

Anyone in the US experiencing emotional distress can now text or call one three digit number to get help.

A national partnership between AmeriCorps, the federal agency for volunteering and national service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will create the Public Health Corps through a $400 million investment from the American Rescue Plan Act.

It's Friday — which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable. Our panel of reporters will get you up-to-date on the headlines of this past week. On today's show: ICU capacity, COVID-19 in rural hospitals, increasing evictions, the Boise Farmers Market going virtual and more.

New classes, new people and new schedules are all likely stressors for college students. But now, with pandemic disruptions, social isolation and general unrest — college life may be harder than ever.

The more than $300,000 federally funded grant will help make Boise State Idaho’s first JED Campus — a nationwide program aimed at creating support for student mental health, substance use and suicide prevention.

Utah state Rep. Steve Eliason had a jarring wake-up call to the suicide crisis in his state in 2012. Several of his son’s middle school classmates died by…