NJ Education Report

Karie Shen is a high school senior and a member of the RISE Team in The Hamilton Lab at Rutgers University. Dr. Jessica L. Hamilton is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University who conducts research on understanding and preventing adolescent suicide. This first appeared at nj.com.

A student walks down the school hall, sits in the classroom and eats lunch surrounded by classmates. While they may smile and seem engaged, they are consumed with thoughts of ending their life. Without the knowledge of where to turn and how to get help, this student may have become nearly one in 10 teens who attempt or die by suicide each year.

Now more than ever, suicide prevention and mental health resources and education are necessary for students in middle school and high school throughout the U.S. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline receives more than 2.5 million calls each year and this number is only increasing, highlighting the rising mental health crisis and existing infrastructure helping to combat it. By printing suicide prevention and crisis resources on student ID cards, students have life-saving resources immediately available to them.

In November 2021, the New Jersey Legislature passed NJ S550, which requires public schools with grades 7-12 to include a telephone number for a suicide prevention hotline on student IDs, following similar action in Arizona, California, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin. Not only do students often have their IDs on them at all times, making the resources readily accessible, but seeking help can become destigmatized by normalizing schoolwide mental health programs

This law is a step in the right direction for suicide prevention. But there is still more that schools can do. School districts can further reduce suicide risk and improve teen mental health by adding more mental health resources on student ID cards, which is an initiative that I launched at my school in the spring with support from Jessica L. Hamilton, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University and director of The Hamilton Lab.

Here is how we can improve information to educate students, provide crisis resources when students need them most and connect support back to student counselors.

• The NJ Hopeline is a local crisis phone line where trained counselors can help the caller to develop a resolution and receive a referral to local treatment.
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, now with a 988 dialing code, is the most extensive and memorable resource but is not yet included in the New Jersey law. 988 also provides counseling in Spanish, increasing access to the state’s large Spanish-speaking population.
• The phrase “hotline” can be intimidating. Unlike a hotline for those in immediate crisis, the 2NDFLOOR “warmline” encourages adolescents to open up about school stressors, family troubles and friendship issues, providing early intervention with emotional support to prevent a crisis. The website also has a chat option and an anonymous message board.

All three lines are active 24/7 and, collectively, allow for calls, texting, online chats and anonymous posting on forums.

There is still more that can be done to improve the mental health of students, including adding the following information to student ID cards in addition to crisis lines:

1. School or mental health counselor contact information to remind students that they have a trusted adult in their school and community who can support them mentally and emotionally. A counselor’s phone number (or preferred contact method) is useful for reaching them when a student may need it most, such as when they are having a crisis in a school bathroom or at home during an out-of-school suspension.

2. A QR code with a comprehensive list of mental health resources created by The Hamilton Lab, which includes links and brief descriptions for emergency services and general resources on suicide and self-harm, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, finding a therapist and more. Students do not only need help when they are in a crisis! Accessibility is key: Students can quickly scan the QR code using their phones and access a collection of resources to help themselves or their friends and family.

Recognizing that cost may be a barrier to printing phone numbers and codes on ID cards, stickers with the information can be applied to the ID cards. This a cost-effective and easily replaceable method as resources grow.

These efforts are one simple step that we, as a community, can take to better address suicide and make it a topic that we can discuss openly. Having hotlines on student IDs supports the idea that anyone can be at risk, everyone deserves help, and everyone can be supported.

We must do our part to work past the bare minimum and make sure students are getting the mental health resources and education they need. Through collective action, we can work together to prevent suicide and improve mental health for students in New Jersey and beyond.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988″ to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.