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So, I volunteer for one of the centers that answers calls to the National Suicide Prevention Line (NSPL). The training that we get involves risk assessing the

So, I volunteer for one of the centers that answers calls to the National Suicide Prevention Line (NSPL). The training that we get involves risk assessing the caller by asking them questions. I won't go into details, but it's very rare that we would call emergency services without the caller's consent, and it would require the caller to tell us that they're in imminent risk of taking their life, and also that they aren't willing to work with us on finding a means of staying safe. The training that we get puts a lot of emphasis on protecting the dignity and autonomy and privacy of the caller. There's no one national center, calls to NSPL get routed to the center that's closest to you geographically (I believe that's based on area code). Different centers may have different training and policies, etc.

altendo 7y ago
>There's no one national center, calls to NSPL get routed to the center that's closest to you geographically (I believe that's based on area code). Different centers may have different training and policies, etc. I would definitely argue that this is the case. Like you, I also volunteer for one of the NSPL crisis centers, and we don't generally call emergency services unless it's absolutely necessary, but there are definitely stories out there where they were called when (in my personal opinion as a volunteer) it was not required. I seem to remember a story about a veteran getting an unwelcomed visit from law enforcement simply because they owned guns and had suicidal thoughts with no intent to harm themselves. If I can find the story again I will link it.