Idaho example of mental health crisis and suicides

Suicide hotline returns to Idaho after 5-year absence
By The Associated Press
November 05, 2012

BOISE -- Five years ago, Idaho became the only state without a certified, statewide suicide prevention hotline.

Residents in crisis still had a number to call, but the voice on the other end was 400 miles away in Portland. That meant it wasn't someone familiar with the isolation that comes with living in a rural region where mental health services are few and far-flung, said Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline Director John Reusser.

Over the next few years, the economy worsened. Soldiers, troubled by the stresses of war, came home. And Idaho's suicide rate -- consistently among the highest in the nation -- climbed.

"We consistently hover between fourth and sixth in the country for rates of completed suicides," said John Reusser, director of the new, soon-to-open Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline. "I know the national hotline was better than nothing, in terms of a resource for people to call, but I don't think it's as effective as a hotline that's dedicated to the state of Idaho."

The last statewide hotline closed in the spring of 2007 as funding dropped. At the time, Idaho's suicide rate was nearly 15 completed suicides per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 11 per 100,000 people, according to the Suicide Prevention Action Network of Idaho. By 2009, the number of Idaho suicides had climbed to nearly 20 per 100,000 residents, compared to the national average of 12.

"When the last hotline shut down, there really wasn't the sort of broad-based support and momentum to have one here. We're kind of a frontier state, and we have a big ethic of self-reliance here, encouraging people to rely on their community supports," he said. "Idaho is 49th in the nation for mental health funding. And ironically, a hotline is one of those things that allows people to get more help for themselves."
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