Yes! Many callers are identified as not being suicidal at the time of their call. We like to think that suicide hotlines have the power to support someone before a crisis, preventing potential escalation.

Absolutely!  We can’t call out to the person-at-risk ourselves, but we can give guidance on how to assess for safety, what emotional support tends to be most effective, and referrals that can intervene in an emergency.

When the counselor answers the call, they will offer their name and ask you for yours. Immediately after getting your name they’ll need to ask you about your own suicidal thoughts. This is to prioritize safety concerns, and for triage. After determining risk of suicidal, the counselor will start asking questions about what brought you to call. They’ll probe a bit about what’s been going on recently and how you’re feeling about these circumstances. As the call continues, the operator will start exploring next steps, mostly in terms of self-care but sometimes in terms of addressing issues that may be leading to suicidal.

No. We do not provide confirmation of contact, or released any call records. This is true for both adults and youth. The only times we lift confidentiality are in times of immediate physical danger, in which case we will only contact emergency services.