Texting For Help On Minnesota Suicide Prevention Hotline
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Data from a 2010 Minnesota Student Survey cites an "alarming rate" of suicidal tendencies in the northeastern part of the state.
Carlton County recently received a $1.44 million federal grant for a seven-county texting hotline for suicide prevention.
The center is receiving as many cell phone text messages from teenagers in one day as it formerly got from phone calls in a month. Since November, 160 people have texted counselors who have reported conversations lasting anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours, equating to a 10 to 15 minute phone call.
Behavioral health issues among youth generate from relationship issues and breakups that traumatize students. Counselors try to move the texters to phone calls and face-to-face sessions. In emergencies, they work with law enforcement.
Presentations and posters and glow-in-the-dark bracelets give both phone and text numbers for students to plug into their cell phones.
Read more about this important program in Education Week.
