Idaho suicide hotline to expand service to texts, online chats

Idaho’s Suicide Prevention Hotline has received $45,000 to expand the hotline’s use of texts and an online chat service.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Idaho residents ages 15 to 34. “Texts for Life” is aimed at reaching a demographic more comfortable texting or using an online chat service than making phone calls, including veterans. The money will improve the hotline’s capacity to handle several thousand text messages as well as chats and calls from those in crisis.

The $45,000 comes from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission through a former Qwest fund.

Qwest, the predecessor to what is now CenturyLink, paid into the fund when it failed to meet standards to ensure that other telecommunications providers were allowed access to Qwest facilities to provide competitive telecommunications services. Payments to the fund were discontinued in 2010.