EDITORIAL: Spread the lifesaving gospel of 988

The person next to you in your church pew, office cubicle or restaurant booth could be in trouble.

Deep, dark trouble. Life-threatening trouble.

Or it could be one of your kids. One of your grandkids.

It could be one of your parents, one of your grandparents, a favorite aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.

Because the thing about suicide is that it’s an equal-opportunity killer. Sometimes its encroaching signs are obvious. But often, perhaps because we’re too busy or too self-centered to notice the clouds gathering around someone else, we’re stunned to learn when someone we thought was just fine takes their life.

That’s why ensuring the people around us, the ones we love and perhaps even some we don’t know, become aware of the life-saving power of 988. Sharing the number isn't just an honorable act of compassion; it’s a responsibility that every card-carrying member of the human race should uphold.

So remember that number: 988. The other numbers we’re about to drop on you, you can forget. But not 988.

That number is a national suicide and crisis hotline. It operates around the clock, every day of the year.

Those three digits connect callers with trained counselors at more than 200 crisis call centers across the country. These counselors can help make the dark clouds disperse. They save lives, every single day.

Last year, 12,657 Idahoans grabbed that 988 lifeline, according to an article this week by the Idaho Capital Sun. Another 11,179 called the Idaho Crisis and Suicide Hotline. Combined, that’s almost the entire population of Moscow, or half the population of Post Falls.

But those are all just numbers. When suicide strikes someone you love, one is far too many. That’s why doing your best to ensure those around you know 988 is there for them, anytime they need it, is so important.

Post a note on the employee bulletin board at work. Share it with your social media contacts. Talk to your kids about it and post the number on the refrigerator to remind them to share it with their friends.

In the past few years, suicide rates have declined slightly in Idaho, an encouraging trend. But for anyone in crisis, statistics mean nothing. A caring, resourceful person who listens well can mean everything.