CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just like 911 is available to anyone suffering from a physical emergency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is hoping to provide a resource for those suffering from a mental health emergency.
The FCC is now moving forward with plans to create a national 3-digit suicide prevention hotline, 988.
This move comes as the U.S. sees the highest rates of suicide since World War II.
“It’s an epidemic in America,” Don Tyson said.
Tyson has spent the last six years working with the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) in Charlotte, and is the former board president. He said mental illness can affect anyone.
“Suicide and mental illness don’t discriminate, all economic levels, all races, all cultures are impacted by it,” Tyson said.
In 2018, a report published by the North Carolina Child Task Force found suicide the number one cause of death among teens in North Carolina, ages 15 to 17.
Also in 2018, more first responders died by suicide than in the line of duty and in rural communities, a study found that farm owners and workers were three to five times as likely to commit suicide than other professions.
“I think it’s going to help family members as well as the person who has a mental health condition because family members know there’s a number that they can call,” Tyson said, referring to the proposed 3-digit hotline.
The FCC says they are now opening the proposal for a period of public comment, before moving forward with final plans. If given the final go-ahead the FCC says it could take 18 months for 988 to be operational.
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