National Suicide Prevention Month

Modern suicide prevention in the United States has roots in a single conviction: that this was a subject to be understood, not avoided. In 1968 the psychologist Edwin Shneidman helped found the American Association of Suicidology, an organization built on the idea that careful research and open discussion could save lives.

Out of that work came National Suicide Prevention Week, an annual stretch of education and outreach that the association has anchored for decades. Awareness events have been held around it since the 1970s, long before the wider public was ready to talk openly about mental health.

The most concrete change came decades into the story. For years, help from the national crisis line meant remembering a ten-digit number. In July 2022 that line became 988, a three-digit number reachable by call or text from anywhere in the country.

The shift was about access. A number short enough to recall in a hard moment removes one small barrier between a person and a trained counselor, and it gave the awareness month a clear, memorable thing to point people toward.