Delays Hit Already-Late Army Suicide Prevention Guidelines

Military.Com: After 3 Years Of Delays, Army Has Again Paused Rewriting Suicide Prevention Policies 
Despite a website with vague guidance, PowerPoint presentations and at least five separate policies referencing behavioral health, the Army offers relatively few clear resources for how units are supposed to respond to soldiers who are at risk of suicide. The service has been promising to rewrite its suicide prevention policy for three years, but the effort has been repeatedly delayed. The most recent holdup is due to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's push for uniform prevention policies across the services, as recommended by an independent commission that finished work in February. (Beynon, 5/31)

Military.com: A Soldier Attempted Suicide In Poland. Left To Roam At Fort Riley, He Killed Himself
The unit's response to Spc. Austin Valley's first attempt to kill himself raises questions over whether the Army's suicide prevention efforts provide clear, concise response plans for units. (Beynon, 5/30)

In other mental health news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia’s Mental Health Hotline Is A National Leader. Some Worry About Its Expansion
Georgia’s new 988 mental health hotline service, which launched last summer, was recognized on Friday as a model for other states. But some Democratic lawmakers in the Legislature say last-minute budget cuts made by the governor’s office could hamper the planned expansion of 988. At a town hall on Friday to discuss the future of the hotline, national leaders held up Georgia as an example of what’s working. The success with 988, a national hotline for people experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis, has been a bright spot for a state that’s traditionally lagged in providing that care. (Landergan, 6/1)

Axios: Arizona's Use Of Mental Health Line 988 Is On The Rise
Use of the new 988 mental health crisis line is on the rise in Arizona, though the number of calls remains dwarfed by the number of calls to the state's preexisting crisis line. The Federal Communications Commission designated 988 as the three-digit hotline for suicide prevention and mental health crisis, and the line went into effect last summer. (Duda and Bennett, 5/31)

Houston Chronicle: More Harris Co. 911 Calls To See Mental Health Crisis Team, Not Police
More of Harris County's 911 calls will be diverted to a mental health crisis team instead of law enforcement officers after a year-long pilot program in a handful of neighborhoods handled thousands of non-violent incidents. Since March 2022, the county's Holistic Assistance Response Team, or HART, program has dispatched mental health and social work professionals instead of law enforcement to some types of emergency calls. In the first year, it diverted 2,265 calls from law enforcement responses in neighborhoods including Cypress Station, Sunnyside and South Park. (Rice, 5/31)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.