Hundreds of Canadians have been calling the new national 988 suicide prevention hotline. Since launching in November 2023, the service has had about 1,000 calls and 450 texts per day across Canada. It is expected that as the service becomes widely-known just like 9-1-1, the numbers will increase.The goal of the 988-calling line is to prevent suicide. The effort is to create simple access to suicide prevention and give help when it is needed most.Statistics Canada reported last year suicidal thoughts rose significantly during COVID-19, increasing from 2.7% of Canadians having them, to 4.2% in 2021. Every day, about 200 people attempt suicide.In response to many who have worked for years to improve Canada’s situation and catch-up to other countries for service availability, the federal government provided $156 million over three years to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to oversee the new 988 line. It is staffed 24 hours a day by call-takers, at 39 crisis centres across the country. It builds on the many uncoordinated hot-lines that had been operating for years in various regions.By having suicide hotlines, the effort is that if someone is thinking about ending their life, there is a simple option to reach out. Someone will be there to engage to start reversing the process of self-disengagement from the world and help ensure they are safe that moment. People may be overwhelmed, and making a 988 call can be the very key to get help. Suicide affects people of all ages and backgrounds and for every life lost to suicide many more lives are impacted. When 988 rings, staff will know immediately that the emergency they’re addressing is suicide and do not have to delicately deduce it from the caller.The service appears to be greatly needed, as hundreds of Canadians have been calling the suicide prevention hotline according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH.) The new three-digit hotline is available via text or phone call, to anyone in Canada thinking about suicide or worried about someone else. Offered in both English and French, the service offers live support from trained responders 24 hours a day, every single day of the year.When calling 988, a person will hear a brief recorded message letting them know they've contacted the right place. Then they'll be able to choose options regarding age and language preference. Afterwards, the caller can provide as much identifying information as they wish. No one who reaches out will be turned away.The plan is that if someone is feeling hopeless, but not sure if 988 can help, they are encouraged to call anyway. If one is not sure they’re having suicidal thoughts, or if one’s mental state is in any way related to suicide, people are encouraged to call.While 988 focuses on preventing suicide, 9-1-1 is meant to help if there's an emergency where there is a need for police, firefighters or an ambulance. However, people should call 9-1-1 if they have already started to seriously harm themselves or have taken steps towards suicide.The reason those numbers were chosen for the suicide crisis hotline is because they're the same numbers used in a system launched in the US last year. Canada has been behind other similarly resourced countries by not having a national suicide prevention strategy.Canada isn't the first country to implement a suicide prevention line. The UK and Australia also have helplines which are accessed by 988. Suicide prevention lines have been successful internationally and they're an evidence-based tool to prevent suicide. There was experience the Canadian implementers learned from the US, about the pragmatics of launching 988, including technology, wait times, staff training and best practices for promoting a realistically helpful service. To prepare for a rise in calls in Canada after the introduction of 988, there was federal funding for the 39 partner agencies to hire more staff. The Vancouver Island Crisis Society, one of many partner agencies, previously had 15 crisis-line responders handling around 90 calls or texts a day. The society hired an additional 15 staff for the 988 line and early experience says there were an extra 50 requests a day after the launch. Similar patterns developed in other provinces.What happens when someone calls 988? Callers are routed to the closest crisis centre with available staff. With 39 centres across Canada doing this work 24 hours a day, the goal is to always have a call-taker available. The first step for the responder is to make the caller feel comfortable and try and establish some rapport and emotional connect so they won’t hang up. Callers are asked why they’re in distress, as it is often more than one thing.The appeal of 988 is that it offers present help to someone who needs it now, rather than waiting for a counselling appointment many days later. Immediate access is very important to prevent suicide. Todd Doherty is the Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Cariboo Prince George, first elected in October 2015. Mr. Doherty was most recently named Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Mr. Doherty championed Bill C-211, An Act Respecting a Federal Framework on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The first of its kind in the world, the bill required the Minister of Health to develop a comprehensive federal framework to address the challenges of recognizing the symptoms and providing timely diagnosis and treatment of PTSD.MP Doherty also helped the national process along of establishing the 988 suicide prevention number in Canada with the passage of a unanimous consent motion in the House of Commons. Todd’s motion spurred along the creation of a national easy to remember 3-digit hotline, which is now running.Communities must now engage and advertise the number and build follow-up community resources. While the federal seed money was helpful, much falls within provincial and municipal jurisdiction to complete the helping chain, from first contact with 988, to comprehensive follow through support.
