Wired Word Lesson of the Week

The Wired Word

Topic for Sunday, May 10, 2026:

Youth Suicides Drop After Debut of National Hotline: New research has found that suicides among young adults have dropped most sharply in states that have embraced the 988 crisis line, which is an encouraging development in the area of mental health. This week we will focus on helping people in times of despair, and exploring what the church can do to help prevent self-harm and suicide.

In the News

Individuals are encouraged to read the news below related to this topic before the May 10th bible study to be prepared for an engaging conversation:

The news surrounding teen mental health is often disheartening. The suicide rate among people aged 10 to 24 jumped 62% from 2007 through 2021, reports Greater Good Magazine, after remaining stable for the previous five years. But recent data is offering a glimmer of hope, revealing that the youth suicide rate in the United States has dropped in recent years.

FOX 13 News spoke with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Florida, in an effort to better understand the trend. President and CEO Clara Reynolds attributed this positive decline largely to the implementation of 988, the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Although 988 is a national phone number, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay answers Florida callers. The hotline is a gateway to professional help and mental health support.

The 988 national suicide prevention hotline was introduced in 2022, and in the following 2.5 years the rate of suicides among young people across the country dropped 11% below projections. The greatest decreases were in states with a higher volume of answered 988 calls.

The findings, reported by The New York Times, compared suicide deaths from July 2022 to December 2024 with mathematical projections that were based on historical trends. According to this analysis, there were 4,372 fewer suicides of adolescents and young adults, ages 15 to 34, than had been projected.

But why was this good news connected to the use of the hotline? Researchers at Harvard Medical School looked at trends in states with high and low usage of the hotline. They found that the 10 states with the largest increases in 988 calls experienced an 18.2% reduction in observed suicides compared with expected suicides. The 10 states with the lowest number of answered 988 calls saw a reduction of only 10.6 percent.

The government's investment in 988 has resulted in "a measurable reduction of deaths," said Dr. Vishal Patel, a resident physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Among young people "at least," he said, "suicide mortality is lower than it would have been without the program."

The United States created the 988 hotline with bipartisan support in July 2022, replacing a less memorable 10-digit hotline number. The government also supported the hotline with a $1.5

billion investment in crisis center capacity. Since its debut, the service has been used more than 25 million times, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency has requested $534.6 million to fund the program for 2027.

In 2025, the Trump administration terminated one aspect of the hotline, the Press 3 option for LGBTQ+ callers. Advocacy groups and policymakers protested the decision, and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said that his agency was planning to restore the Press 3 option.

In an effort to show a link between the decline in deaths and the hotline, researchers looked at suicides among Americans over age 65, who are less likely to call 988. In that group, the reduction in suicides exceeded expectations, but it was smaller -- just 4.5%. They also looked at the rate of suicides among young people in England, where no comparable change had been made to the national crisis line. They found no reduction in youth suicides in England.

So, what happens on a 988 call? According to WebMD, you will first hear a message that will give you options to connect to the Veterans Crisis Line, access help in Spanish, or be routed to your local Lifeline network crisis center (based on your area code). If your local crisis center is unable to answer, your call will go to another Lifeline center. Once the call is routed, a trained counselor will answer the phone. They will listen, provide support, and share resources if needed -- their goal is to support you in your moment of distress. If the counselor feels you are in danger, they may discuss connecting you to local emergency services like 911. But first they will do everything they can to help you with a less invasive plan to keep you safe.

Emily Hilliard, a senior press secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, said that government agencies are "committed to ensuring that all Americans have access" to the 988 line, which she said "clearly provides lifesaving support, helping millions of people every year."

More on this story can be found at these links:

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