I've been on suicide and depression forums for over a decade. One of the most frequent topics I see posted is that the crisis hotlines are useless or even worse than useless. Issues being, among others, (1) counselors are hamstrung by our normal societal guardrails on how honest they can be, (2) people often aren't able to find an agent, leaving them feeling more upset than before they tried, (3) there's pressure not to be honest lest you have the police called on you, (4) for many it gets frustrating being talked off the ledge with no real long-term solution. I'm sure others could contribute additional complaints.
Now, I know damn well that there are counselors on those hotlines doing their best and I'm sure there are success stories.
That's subjective.
Data-wise, it is very hard to gauge how much the helplines actually make a difference. First, how do you even measure that in isolation? One thing is that you have self-reporting of how bad things are at the beginning and end of the call, but reasons 2-4 above show why this can be problematic. You can look at overall suicide rates, but those are going up. You can look at suicide rates in areas/countries v. resources, but then the helpline is part of a larger strategy. There's a possibility that your highest risk people don't utilize the helpline.
The Effectiveness of Crisis Line Services: A Systematic Review [lonk], a review of 33 studies from 2020, shows some of these difficulties. It showed overall good outcomes, but "[m]ost studies were rated at Oxford level four evidence
and 80% were assessed at high risk of bias." The ONLY study herein rated as a low risk of bias really only conclusively found that people who called hotlines went on to later commit suicide at a higher rate than the average person, which is kinda not helpful because they were at risk in the first place, hence they were calling, but it shows how hard it is to actually measure effectiveness. Still, people who have used the helpline being more than twice as likely to kill themselves, with a majority doing so within 5 years of using the service, at minimum is not evidence of success.
So, there is little to no reliable data saying that putting money into a helpline is the most effective way to reduce suicide rates, or - frankly - even that it is effective to a measurable degree. That doesn't mean it isn't helpful! Just that the data is hard to measure, and - again subjectively - I see people in distress mostly having bad experiences - not that the good experiences would gather the reactions and likes and what have you.
All this is to say: it's an evil despicable horrible no good move. Indeed, all wise know that orange man is the worst evil to befall the planet in humanity's history and every single action he takes is awful. Actually, the bright side is that this is the first solid evidence we have that the crisis line is actually
extremely effective, worth every penny, and should be a top priority to receive funding. So once the bad man is gone we should triple the funding from what it was before this cut.
