Centers get funding for suicide prevention

U.S. crisis centers affiliated with the Suicide Prevention Lifeline are funded to develop follow-up services for those at high risk of suicide, officials say. Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, says the Suicide Prevention Lifeline works with a nationwide network of more than 150 crisis centers. The centers provide round-the-clock phone counseling, emergency intervention when necessary and referral services to callers contemplating suicide or concerned about a friend or loved one considering suicide. Hyde says, people at risk of suicide who have contacted the Lifeline too often do not receive the follow-up care recommended. Each of the six Lifeline crisis centers selected will receive as much as $60,000 per year for as long as three years to develop systems to reach out and help ensure that critical follow-up care is provided for people in need. "Suicide is preventable and the Lifeline has saved countless lives. Sixty percent of people who received follow-up help from the Lifeline said that these services made a lot of difference in making them feel safer," Hyde says in statement. "These grants will bolster the Lifeline's ability to offer continued vital support, help and hope for those who need it most." The crisis centers getting the grant money are: Baltimore Crisis Response Inc.; 2-1-1 Brevard Inc. in Rockledge, Fla.; The Oregon Partnership, Inc. in Portland; The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay Inc.; Switchboard of Miami Inc.; and the Volunteers of America Western Washington.