Suicide hotline only open from 9 to 5

A Canadian province will shut its 24-hour suicide hotline and replace it with one that operates only during business hours.

Prince Edward Island, a small province on Canada’s East Coast, says it is too expensive to operate the hotline around the clock. Starting June 1, it will be open only between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The plan drew protest from mental health groups across the country Wednesday.

Even though it’s just PEI, still. This story highlights the serious issues many suicide hotlines have in keeping staffed, whether for funding reasons or training reasons (finding good people who don’t get burned out after a month). It’s welcome attention for a service that gets little attention (or thanks) in most countries, but which accounts for saving thousands of lives each year.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 26 May 2005
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