FACT SHEET: The National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE

A summary:

The Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE is not a "new" hotline. It simply brings the tremendous knowledge, skill and resources of existing Crisis Centers under the safety net of a single, easy-to-remember, toll-free telephone number. People in crisis generally don't have the energy or ability to take on a long search for help. The Hopeline Network makes appropriate, critical services available to all.

The National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE was activated in May of 1999 to connect callers - people who are depressed or suicidal, or those who are concerned about someone they love - automatically to a certified Crisis Center. Using the ANI (Automatic Number Identification) system, telephone calls are routed to the Hopeline Network affiliated Crisis Center nearest to where the person is when the call is placed.

Crisis Center calls are answered by trained counselors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In the event that the nearest Crisis Center is at maximum volume, the call is seamlessly rerouted to the next closest center. Callers should never encounter a busy signal or voice mail. People in crisis usually reach a trained counselor within two to three rings, or about 20 to 30 seconds, from the moment they dial 1-800-SUICIDE. Once the caller is engaged, a lethality assessment is done. Those who are not highly lethal are referred to locally available resources.

If the person is highly lethal, the decision for intervention is made by the on-call supervisor. With "Caller ID", location data can be easily transferred to the local mobile response team, which in most locales is the police department. In Los Angeles last spring, a teenage girl who had taken an overdose of pills and slashed her wrists called 1-800-SUICIDE in a last effort to save herself. The Crisis Center dispatched an ambulance, and the young woman was saved. The Hopeline Network is making a difference.

Our nations 750+ crisis centers have been effectively helping to de-escalate personal crises and have offered referral to resources for more than 30 years. It is time for that level of care to be improved by accrediting far more than the 120 centers now certified through the AAS and CONTACT; and by making them more accessible to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who contemplate or attempt suicide each year.

Presently, with very little publicity or exposure, the average number of calls exceeds 500 per day. There are 68 AAS-certified and 49 CONTACT-certified Crisis Centers in the U.S., and nearly 70 are in the network as of November, 2000. By the end of 2001, we hope to have 100 centers more newly certified and connected. In addition, we plan to begin assisting the more than 500 other Crisis Centers in this country with the certification process. We estimate that more than 75 percent of them could be accredited, but lack the financial resources to do so. Additional funding is also needed to assist AAS certification teams in expediting the process.

According to recent data reports from Hopeline Network Crisis Centers, calls average ten minutes each. According to recent reports:

80% of all calls come in off peak hours and 20% on peak.

74% of all callers are between the ages of 14 and 29

48% are female; 52% male

34% of all suicide related callers have suicidal ideation or intent


In the past year, the Kristin Brooks Hope Center has worked to:

Win approval during the 106th Congress of the first federal funds allocated specifically for suicide prevention ($9 million for crisis center services, June 2000; and $75 million for youth suicide prevention, October 2000)
Reach young people by providing the crisis services component of the National Mental Health Awareness Campaigns anti-stigma television ad and website outreach. Ads run on MTV, MTV2, VH1, Fox Family Channel and Nickelodeon.  
Help found a suicide prevention collaborative organization that includes a dozen national non-profits
Increase awareness about suicide and mental health treatment through a benefit concert in San Francisco that featured the bands Journey and Firefall.
Assist AAS with new standards and partnerships for accrediting more of the nations crisis centers
Boost national involvement by moving our offices from California to Virginia
Recognize survivors through support of a Congressional resolution making Nov. 18, 2000 National Survivors of Suicide Day in conjunction with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, New York
Ensure the Hope Centers financial future through numerous grant applications
Assist Canada with connecting its crisis centers through 1-800-SUICIDE
Educate people about suicide prevention by teaching QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer, so-called "CPR for suicide prevention") We believe that suicide prevention is everyone's business, and teach whenever and wherever asked 

This is how our immediate future looks:

The U.S. Congress in late June appropriated $9 million to certify about 200 crisis centers, and to expand and evaluate a national suicide prevention hotline network. The National Hopeline Network was specifically referenced on the Senate floor, and we were the only organization that applied for the grant.
With that will come increased national publicity and a serious spike in the number of people who contact the National Hopeline Network. The federal funding will allow us to increase staff to meet the workload, and to pay Crisis Centers in the network for answering calls.
There is a need for sub-networks, linking Crisis Centers that have existing Teen Lines, Spanish-speaking counselors, and the like. We are developing a method of making these accessible to Hopeline Network callers seamlessly,  without their having to place a second phone call.
We met twice this fall with crisis centers in Canada to help them create a network connected through 1-800-SUICIDE, administered by us.
We helped advocate with Congress for $75 million earmarked for youth suicide prevention, and will work with other national suicide prevention organizations to see that the money is spent wisely. The 107th Congress is likely to consider at least two major suicide prevention bills introduced next year.The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, released the National Strategy for Suicide Preventionon May 2nd. This will serve to heighten awareness of the magnitude of suicide completions in this country, and offer us many opportunities to educate people about warning signs and how to respond. The message: depression is treatable and suicide is often preventable

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