By John Draper, Ph.D.
Project Director
Originally appeared in Life Lines Newsletter on March 23, 2006

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is receiving growing attention from national media sources who wish to inform the public about our valuable service. Recently, the WB television network broadcast an episode of “One Tree Hill” on March 1st featuring a Lifeline PSA. This PSA generated a record number of calls to this network, with over 750 calls to 800-273-TALK occurring in just under a 5-minute period.

This same episode, including the PSA, was aired last night. We are still analyzing last night’s calls that occurred as a result, but your response to our request to provide additional support during this anticipated “surge” period has been extremely encouraging.

Now, we have learned of an opportunity to air a similar Lifeline PSA following an episode of “As the World Turns,” which is tentatively scheduled to air on CBS and its affiliates on May 1, 2006. It is important that we do everything we can to help our network of centers prepare for these opportunities to reach so many persons in need. We will always inform you in advance of any such PSA airings as we learn about them. In turn, we ask that each of you and your dedicated staff members participating in the Lifeline network continue to do whatever you can to join us in responding to these broad-scale calls to action.

To whatever degree possible, we ask that your center:

• Make every effort to maximize staff capacity for managing Lifeline calls during this anticipated “call surge period.” Such surges typically peak 2 to 3 hours following a broadcast PSA, before returning to normal levels. Sustaining maximum staff capacity beyond that length of time is generally not necessary.
• Instruct staff to do their best to clear their lines of “non-crisis calls” just before the PSA’s broadcast, to the extent that such broadcast time is known. For example, just prior to the PSA, callers that have been on the line for 10 minutes or more that are not in crisis can be asked to receive a call back later, if more time is needed.

It is thrilling that media sensitivity to responsible depictions of suicide appears to be growing, to some degree. Some major media sources are recognizing that stories of suicides represent clear opportunities for promoting awareness of the problem and assisting those in need to find help. As they turn to this federally-funded project to provide this help, we are all thankful that each of your centers in this 24-7 national network is there to assist them. We know that these are not only opportunities for fulfilling the fundamental mission of this national effort, but they are also opportunities to enhance recognition of the work of crisis centers—individually and collectively—towards obtaining more support and resources to save more lives. We must make the most of each and every opportunity.

Again, we are enormously grateful for your tremendous work and commitment to this broad-scale effort, and we very much appreciate what assistance you will be able to provide during the PSA aired at the end of the “As the World Turns” episode scheduled to air on May 1, 2006. We will provide you with additional information regarding this opportunity and any other media news as it emerges.