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Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

nytimes.com

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Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#51

Post by malfist »

nxobject wrote: post #44

It's good to celebrate this... but, looking forward, it's worrying to think whether kiddos these days are going first to ChatGPT instead, of, well, the hotline (or real people!) I think there's genuine value in going to an AI -- as long as you think of it as "interactive journaling", and not a human relationship. But, will they encourage struggling kiddos to make the leap and ask for support from an actual person?

> I think there's genuine value in going to an AI

What's it going to do, help them avoid passive voice in their suicide note? Encourage them to carry it out? Hype them up about suicide? Tell them they're absolutely correct?

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#52

Post by chasd00 »

ceejayoz wrote: post #41
chasd00 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I suspect prisons, at times, have to manage things specific to gay inmates. doubtful. There's no customer service in prison nor the ability to speak with the manager.

Of course there is. https://doccs.ny.gov/file-complaint > Incarcerated Individuals can contact OSI directly by dialing 444 from any incarcerated individual phone Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/inmate-g... > Every jail must develop a clear and responsive prisoner grievance procedure, including a formal means of delivering complaints a…

I've never been to prison but i have spent a night in the pokey a couple times. Those may be legit websites but it's not my experience.

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#53

Post by fhn »

GuinansEyebrows wrote: post #45
marojejian wrote: post #2

gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/science/988-youth-suicide... I bet there is so much more we could do to reduce suicides, which are a massively big problem. I wish we paid as much attention to suicide as we do to very rare mass shootings, which kill a tiny fraction of the people.

this is a really weird comparison to make given that the US has basically made no material progress on policy that could prevent mass shootings. they're both really really bad things. they both deserve as much attention as we can afford (which is more than they get). not to just jump down your throat -- i agree with you about more needing to be done to prevent suicides though. i think it's a good thing that hotlines…

in your opinion, what policy should be made because whatever policy you make won't do much as long as guns exist?

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#54

Post by themafia »

nyanmatt wrote: post #27

I don’t see how. Have you ever tried calling one of these lines in a suicide emergency? Things I’ve learned in California: - an ambulance will not be dispatched unless you physically witness someone trying to kill themselves - otherwise, they send the police - the police arrive without training and severely escalate the situation - the person having an emergency will be taken into custody and stripped of rights until…

A fact I've noticed is that suicide rates are higher in areas with lower population density. For example, Alaska's suicide rate is 4x what New York's rate is.

Perhaps just human connection, even momentarily, is enough to break the pattern of behavior that has lead to the ideation.

Also worth noting that suicide rates among the elderly are higher than they are for anyone other than teens. If you have someone you love that doesn't get out much, make sure you give them a call now and again.

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#55

Post by ceejayoz »

chasd00 wrote: post #52
ceejayoz wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course there is. https://doccs.ny.gov/file-complaint > Incarcerated Individuals can contact OSI directly by dialing 444 from any incarcerated individual phone Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/inmate-g... > Every jail must develop a clear and responsive prisoner grievance procedure, including a formal means of delivering complaints a…

I've never been to prison but i have spent a night in the pokey a couple times. Those may be legit websites but it's not my experience.

> I've never been to prison

> it's not my experience

Good talk.

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#56

Post by JumpCrisscross »

hirvi74 wrote: post #47
nyanmatt wrote: post #27

I don’t see how. Have you ever tried calling one of these lines in a suicide emergency? Things I’ve learned in California: - an ambulance will not be dispatched unless you physically witness someone trying to kill themselves - otherwise, they send the police - the police arrive without training and severely escalate the situation - the person having an emergency will be taken into custody and stripped of rights until…

I find something darkly depressing and comedic about how we try to prevent people from shooting themselves by sending people with guns to help them.

> how we try to prevent people from shooting themselves by sending people with guns to help them

People with guns are still people. Having anyone there will reduce harm in more cases than it escalates. Suicide is usually an impulse a lonely person who is otherwise perfectly sane carries out in the absence of intervention.

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#57

Post by Jtsummers »

shevy-java wrote: post #23

Personally I never called any such hotline; my assumption was that suicidal thoughts originate from one's own brain and way of thinking - adjust that and these issues would go away. Unfortunately, while this can work (for me it worked extremely well, though I should also say, I don't have suicidal thoughts to begin with, even more so as one's lifespan is finite anyway - but I do understand those who have a terminal i…

This is a fantastically ridiculously comment.

> my assumption was that suicidal thoughts originate from one's own brain and way of thinking - adjust that and these issues would go away. Unfortunately, while this can work (for me it worked extremely well, though I should also say, I don't have suicidal thoughts to begin with

You're, in this comment and the part I quoted, saying that adjusting your thinking worked well for you (with the implication that it worked well in dealing with suicidal thoughts), but you say you don't have the problem (suicidal thoughts or ideation) under discussion. This is like saying, "I've heard that you can walk it off when you break your leg, and that's worked for me, but I've never actually had a broken leg." Complete nonsense.

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#58

Post by ryandrake »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #56
hirvi74 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find something darkly depressing and comedic about how we try to prevent people from shooting themselves by sending people with guns to help them.

> how we try to prevent people from shooting themselves by sending people with guns to help them People with guns are still people. Having anyone there will reduce harm in more cases than it escalates. Suicide is usually an impulse a lonely person who is otherwise perfectly sane carries out in the absence of intervention.

Replace the phrase "people with guns" with "institutional violence" because that's what the police are. When police are called to the scene, the intention of the caller is violence, not to help. If the intention was help, then actual helpers would be called instead.

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#59

Post by JumpCrisscross »

GuinansEyebrows wrote: post #45
marojejian wrote: post #2

gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/science/988-youth-suicide... I bet there is so much more we could do to reduce suicides, which are a massively big problem. I wish we paid as much attention to suicide as we do to very rare mass shootings, which kill a tiny fraction of the people.

this is a really weird comparison to make given that the US has basically made no material progress on policy that could prevent mass shootings. they're both really really bad things. they both deserve as much attention as we can afford (which is more than they get). not to just jump down your throat -- i agree with you about more needing to be done to prevent suicides though. i think it's a good thing that hotlines…

> the US has basically made no material progress on policy that could prevent mass shootings

Mass shootings vary significantly state to state, in part —I think—due to different gun and mental health laws [1].

[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/mass-shooting-rat...

Re: Youth Suicides Declined After Creation of National Hotline

#60

Post by GuinansEyebrows »

fhn wrote: post #53
GuinansEyebrows wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is a really weird comparison to make given that the US has basically made no material progress on policy that could prevent mass shootings. they're both really really bad things. they both deserve as much attention as we can afford (which is more than they get). not to just jump down your throat -- i agree with you about more needing to be done to prevent suicides though. i think it's a good thing that hotlines…

in your opinion, what policy should be made because whatever policy you make won't do much as long as guns exist?

are you asking me, a numbskull with an associate's degree, to propose public policy*? i think we're allowed to want qualified people to do better in the positions we've elected them to :)

* if so, my policy is that all guns be vaporized overnight. also, my policy would include the end of lobbying entirely, including but not limited to the small arms industry and the NRA along with police guilds and other organizations supporting the small arms race in this country

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