In order to provide you with accurate information about the issued raised in the SAMHSA Letter, which contains inaccurate statements and fails to mention relevant facts, we have quoted the letter and provided accurate information immediately following each inaccurate statement or omission of relevant facts. Please let us know if you have any questions or would like additional information about the issues raised in the SAMHSA Letter or the SAMHSA request to the FCC.
The SAMHSA LETTER states the following:
In response to your inquiry I am writing to provide you with the following information. As part of its public health mission, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supports efforts to prevent suicide through the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act programs for youth suicide prevention and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK), which serves as a central switchboard that immediately connects callers to more than 120 certified crisis centers around the country.
In 2001, SAMHSA awarded a cooperative agreement to the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) to certify and network crisis centers from around the country into a national network using a single toll-free number. The number used by the hotline at that time was 1-800-SUICIDE, which had been operated by the Kristin Brooks Hope Center (KBHC) since 1999. KBHC, a private, not-for-profit organization, was a subrecipient of the cooperative agreement awarded to AAS from September 2001 through March 2005.
The Facts:
Since December of 2004, the SAMHSA has failed to approve over $300,000 in
valid claims submitted by KBHC. These valid claims remain unpaid today.
The SAMHSA LETTER states the following:
After SAMHSA established 1-800-273-TALK in 2005, KBHC continued to operate 1-800-SUICIDE independently. 1-800-SUICIDE is a national hotline that currently receives approximately 30,000 calls per month. An independent evaluation of 1-800-SUICIDE by Rutgers University found that approximately nine people per day already in the process of attempting suicide receive emergency counseling by calling 1-800-SUICIDE.
The Facts:
The SAMHSA asked KBHC to transfer the 1-800-SUICIDE number directly from
KBHC to the SAMHSA. KBHC subsequently learned that FCC rules prohibit
transfers of toll free numbers directly between end users. More
importantly, however, is that the transfer of 1-800-SUICIDE from KBHC to
the SAMHSA is not necessary, because KBHC has always been, and continues to
be, willing to work with this agency for the public good. Indeed, the
transfer of 1-800-SUICIDE to a government agency is not desirable, because
it would likely have unintended negative consequences. For example, if
callers learned that the government owns the hotline, the probability that
callers in crisis will not trust the counselor increases. It is the opinion
of the KBHC Board of Directors that direct government operation of
1-800-SUICIDE is not in the best interest of the public safety. KBHC has
offered a sound alternative. We will work with the government to jointly
provide suicide prevention services, but KBHC will not give up ownership or
control of 1-800-SUICIDE or any other of KBHC’s numbers. In this manner,
the lines will stay operational but will have a firewall between the
government and the crisis line community in order to protect the privacy
expectations of callers.
The SAMHSA LETTER states the following:
In August 2006, SAMHSA was notified that 1-800-SUICIDE would shut down and be unavailable to callers.
The Facts:
There is no crisis that would cause 1-800-SUICIDE to shut down and be
unavailable to callers. KBHC has submitted requests to port 1-800-SUICIDE
from Patriot Communications, KBHC’s current toll free service provider, to
another toll free service provider. Federal law requires Patriot to honor
KBHC’s requests. For this reason, KBHC has filed a petition with the FCC
requesting the agency to direct Patriot to comply with federal law and
honor KBHC’s requests. KBHC remains confident that the FCC will require
Patriot to comply with federal law and honor KBHC’s requests to change toll
free service providers, in which case Patriot will no longer be able to
threaten illegally to shut down 1-800-SUICIDE.
The SAMHSA LETTER states the following:
KBHC and SAMHSA reached an agreement that allowed 1-800-SUICIDE and several related numbers-including 1-877-SUICIDA, 1-888-SUICIDE, 1-800-442-HOPE, and 1-800-827-7571 - to remain open and continue to be answered.
The Facts:
KBHC agreed to transfer 1-800-SUICIDE before learning that direct transfers
of toll free numbers between end users is illegal, and that the transfer
was unnecessary for the reasons explained above. However, even before KBHC
learned that direct transfers between toll free numbers is illegal, KBHC
never agreed to transfer any other numbers to the SAMHSA, as written
communications between KBHC and the SAMHSA confirm.
The SAMHSA LETTER states the following:
However, SAMHSA has been informed that these suicide prevention numbers could be disconnected by January 9, 2007.
The Facts:
As explained above, there is no crisis that would cause 1-800-SUICIDE to
shut down and be unavailable to callers. KBHC remains confident that the
FCC will require Patriot to comply with federal law and honor KBHC’s
requests to change toll free service providers, in which case Patriot will
no longer be able to threaten illegally to shut down 1-800-SUICIDE.
The SAMHSA LETTER states the following:
To prevent any risk to the public health that could arise from the sudden disconnection of these privately controlled numbers, SAMHSA is requesting the Federal Communications Commission to assign 1-800-SUICIDE and four related suicide prevention hotline numbers permanently to the Federal Government so that SAMHSA can operate the numbers as a public service.
The Facts:
Since there is no crisis that would cause 1-800-SUICIDE to be disconnected
suddenly, there is no need for 1-800-SUICIDE to be transferred permanently
from KBHC to the SAMHSA. Rather than requesting this transfer, the SAMHSA
should protect the public health by encouraging the FCC to order Patriot to
comply with federal law by porting 1-800-SUICIDE to the toll free service
provider of KBHC’s choice. In this way, the SAMHSA can ensure that KBHC is
able to continue working with the SAMHSA to serve the public health without
causing the unintended consequences that would follow if the government
directly owned and controlled 1-800-SUICIDE.
Best always,
Reese Butler
President and Founder
Kristin Brooks Hope Center
National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE (800-784-2433)
202-536-3200 phone
202-536-3206 fax
615 7th Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
www.hopeline.com
reese@hopeline.com