Suicide calls see sharp increase across states

The new US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is struggling to keep up with call volume as it is inundated with desperate people seeking help.

From July 2022 until May 2023, the revamped hotline has been contacted nearly 5 million times — 1 million times on the Veterans Crisis Line — and 2.6 million other phone calls, over 740,000 chats, and more than 600,000 texts, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, or KFF.

The number of people who contacted the line for help increased by 33 percent from May 2022 to May 2023, the KFF said.