Suicide hotline legislation
INDIANAPOLIS (WTWO/WAWV) — A bill co-authored by State Sen. Jon Ford (R-Terre Haute) with Senator Michael Crider that would require the national suicide hotline and human trafficking hotline numbers to be printed on or affixed to student ID cards passed the Senate Committee on Family and Children Services on Monday by a vote of 7-2.
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Senate Bill 19 would require any public middle school or high school that issues student ID cards to provide the phone numbers of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Both of these organizations provide 24-hour one-on-one support.
Monday, coincidentally, was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
“Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for adolescents in our country, and unfortunately, Indiana has seen this at a rate higher than the national average,” Ford said. “Having seen this tragic loss of life in my own community, I believe it’s important we do everything we can to help young Hoosiers know there is always someone ready to listen and help them through whatever it is they’re going through.”
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, each year, one in six youth between the age of 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder. Nationally, suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals 10 to 34 and Indiana ranks third out of 36 states in the percentage of students who have seriously considered suicide, according to Indiana Youth Institute.
“This legislation has been crafted at a time of great urgency. It will grant an essential resource to our state’s children,” stated Roopam Harshawat, CEO of Harsha Behavioral Center. “This is a time of heightened anxiety, stressors and depression. We all need to rally behind this legislation to equip our youth with added information that is easily accessible for suicide prevention.”
This legislation would only apply to schools that already require student IDs. SB 19 will now be heard by the full Senate.