Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline

ISPH provides crisis intervention, emotional support, resource referrals, linkages to local services, and follow-up for all Idahoans, including those at risk for suicide and their families and loved ones. ISPH is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to fully support the needs throughout Idaho.

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Personal Success Stories

Veteran with PTSD: A male veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) called the hotline agitated and upset because he had been trying to get psychiatric help from the VA hospital. The veteran expressed vague thoughts of harming others but didn’t want help from us and tried to end the call several times. We remained calm, made a good emotional connection with the veteran, and were able to de-escalate him to the point where he agreed to stay safe for the time being. While we kept the vet on the line, the phone room supervisor contacted crisis services at the local VA, and was able to arrange for a warm transfer to the national veteran’s crisis line. The transfer was successful and the call ended with the veteran speaking to the national veteran’s line and agreeing to get help at a local VA. After the call, we successfully followed up with crisis staff at the local VA who coordinated with the national veteran’s line staff to assist the vet in getting help.

Lori lost everything, just needed someone to talk to: Lori, a 34 year old Treasure Valley woman diagnosed with breast cancer, called the Hotline and stated she had lost everything. She had recently lost her job at a local bank, her house, her car, and her medical insurance. Lori had also lost her disability insurance and said she was running out of money. We made a solid emotional connection with Lori and assessed her immediate safety. After we determined that Lori had made superficial cuts to her wrists just before calling the Hotline, we were able to get Lori to agree to remain safe for the time being, to call her family for help, and to call the hotline back immediately after she spoke to her family.

After we waited several minutes for a call back from Lori, we performed a follow up call to her. She confirmed that she had called her family for help and that they had called emergency services who were sending an ambulance to Lori’s location. During the follow up call, Lori also told us that she had cut her wrists again, more seriously this time, and was ambivalent about wanting to live. We asked Lori if she would agree to perform basic first aid on herself while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

We remained on the phone with Lori, reassuring her by supporting her decision to ask for help, while the Phone Room Supervisor confirmed with Ada County Dispatch that help was indeed on the way. The call ended when emergency services arrived to take Lori to the hospital.

Several days later Lori called the Hotline and said that the Hotline saved her life. She wanted to thank the phone worker that had helped her through her crisis and asked if we could let that worker know she had gotten help and treatment. Lori said she knew that everything in her life was going to take time to get back on track and that she felt better knowing that she could call the Hotline any time she felt suicidal, anxious, or just needed someone to talk to.

90 year old Vet: A 90 year old male veteran called the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline. He was having trouble navigating the phone tree to get through to the local Veterans Administration (VA) and was feeling upset and concerned that he was going to run out of his meds. We assessed his safety, determined he was safe, and after speaking to him for a few minutes about his situation, we offered to help advocate for him. The veteran gave us permission to contact the VA on his behalf. While we remained on the phone with the Veteran, the phone room supervisor contacted the VA pharmacy and explained the veteran’s situation. The pharmacist said they had the vet’s medication on hand and gladly offered to make an outbound call to the vet so they could make sure he got his meds. We told the relieved veteran the good news and ended the call so he could be contacted by the VA pharmacy.