NY colleges add 988 Lifeline info to student IDs. What to know

Students attending New York colleges will now have information about suicide prevention on their student ID's as part of a new law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul Monday.

The Student Lifeline Act requires colleges to print information about the state's 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on all student ID cards. More than 478,388 calls and 75,661 texts and chats have been directly routed to New York's 988 Crisis Contact Centers since 2022, including nearly 77,000 calls from former service members connected directly via 988's dedicated Veteran's Crisis Line, according to Hochul's office.

September is also Suicide Prevention Month. More than 1,700 New Yorkers died by suicide in 2022 and it's the second leading cause of death among people aged 25-34 and the third leading cause of death for youth and young adults aged 10-24, Hochul said.

Senator Samra Brouk, who represents portions of Monroe County — East and West Irondequoit, Webster, Penfield, Perinton, Fairport, Pittsford and East Rochester — and the eastern portion of the city of Rochester, sponsored the bill and is the chair of the Committee on Mental Health.

"Mental health and stress are affecting college students on a profound level — this Student Lifeline bill is lifesaving legislation that can prevent crises for students and their families," Brouk said in a written statement Monday. "We must listen to young people when they say they need more mental health services in college ... With 988 on student IDs, young people have a direct connection to compassionate care."

Here's what to know.

What the new law entails

All college student ID cards statewide will be required to contain information about the 988 Lifeline by 2025.

Resources describing when to use 988 must also be provided and if a college doesn't issue ID cards, they're still required to annually distribute information about 988.

Hochul also announced a $5 million statewide campaign Monday to encourage more New Yorkers to use the 988 Lifeline. Advertisements featuring the slogan "We Hear You" will be shared on social media, billboards, college campuses and other digital platforms, with some focusing specifically on first responders, health care professionals, school-aged youth and college students, Black, Latina and LGBTQ+ individuals.

What is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline?

Anyone thinking about suicide, struggling with substance abuse, experiencing a mental health crisis or any other kind of emotional distress are connected with trained crisis counselors to receive personal support, immediate help and to be connected with follow up services.

It is free, confidential, impartial and can be used any time of the day or night by phone, text or chat.

NY 988 Lifeline calls: Some 988 suicide hotline calls in NY are routed out of state. A House bill could fix that

Bill to reroute national 988 Lifeline calls introduced last year

Rep. Marc Molinaro, who represents the 19th District , introduced the 988 Lifeline Location Improvement Act of 2023 last year, adding to earlier efforts to push the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement technology that would reroute New Yorkers' National 988 Crisis Lifeline calls to local call centers as right now, some suicide and mental health emergency calls made by New Yorkers are routed out of state based on the caller's area code.

Introduced alongside Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), the legislation requires the FCC to establish a multi-stakeholder advisory committee to develop and rollout 988 geolocation services.

The committee must be comprised of members from key sectors — telecommunications, handset manufacturing, 911 services, state and local government and representatives from organizations involved in suicide prevention, crisis intervention, veterans' services, substance use treatment and mental health treatment.

A companion bill has also been introduced in the Senate by Senators John Barrasso and Ben Ray Lujan.

Emily Barnes is the New York State Team consumer advocate reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @byemilybarnes . Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NY colleges add 988 Lifeline info to student IDs. What to know