New Mexico saw a 16% drop in suicides among youth ages 5 to 18 in 2021, after having one of the highest suicide rates in the nation in 2020.
September is Suicide Prevention Month. State leaders attribute the decrease in the state's suicide rate to a new crisis hotline that helps with suicide prevention, according to KOB 4.
Counselors at the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline began offering mental health resources and information in July. A 10-digit number was shortened to three (988) so more people would remember the number and call when necessary, KOB 4 reported.
"Everybody experiences mental health concerns in their life," Wendy Linebrink-Allison, program manager for the New Mexico Crisis and Access Line, told KOB 4. "That doesn't mean that you have a mental health diagnosis, but it's ok to ask for help, and if you don’t ask for help you can put yourself and others at risk. Allowing a three-digit phone number where people can reach out, specifically for mental health concerns, allows for people to connect with the right people at the right time."
The number of calls increased this year; the response rate to mental health crises in New Mexico increased by over 90%, according to KOB 4. Most 988 calls are suicide-related, but people can get help with any mental health crisis.
Officials at the New Mexico Department of Health noted a slight increase in suicide among adults, KOB 4 reported. They are working on increasing access to mental health services for state residents.
"Unfortunately, we also lead the country in alcohol-related deaths, and we're among the leaders in overdose deaths," Neal Bowen, director of the Behavioral Health Services Division at the New Mexico Human Services Department, told KOB 4. "That's one of the reasons we expanded it from just suicide to all forms of a behavioral health crisis; that way, people have a pathway – a three-digit pathway – to get help."