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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Still no funding for suicide hotline

Idaho is the only state without a suicide crisis hotline and has no clear private or government funding source to restart the program.

Kathy Garrett, a former Republican state lawmaker and member of the Idaho Council on Suicide Prevention, is looking for a shared public-private partnership to open the crisis phone lines, which could cost $150,000 a year.

“Idaho’s shirking on its duty,” Garrett said about the lack of a hotline. Last year, 3,633 people called the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, with calls answered by staff and volunteers in Oregon. Full story. Brad Iverson-Long, Idaho Reporter

Are you surprised that Idaho is the only state without a suicide crisi hotline? Why or why not?



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.