September is national Suicide Prevention Month, and in New York, officials are putting a few new programs into place to address suicide, self harm and mental illness.

On Sept. 9, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a handful of bills into law that are aimed at expanding access to and awareness of suicide prevention tools like the 988 hotline.

The state is launching a $5 million public awareness campaign for the 988 hotline, which serves as a resource that anyone can contact at any time to get help in times of psychological crisis or when having suicidal thoughts, or if a close friend or family member is in crisis. Callers are put in touch with licensed counselors who can provide talk therapy over the phone and connect the caller with supportive services nearby.

The 988 hotline went live in 2022, replacing the old 10-digit number for the national suicide prevention lifeline. It can be called or text-messaged toll-free daily 24 hours a day.

The campaign is titled “We Hear You,” and will be extended across social media and web ads, billboards, college campuses, sporting events, radio and television throughout New York, and will feature some community-specific messaging as well.

Information about the 988 hotline will also now be printed on college student identification cards at campuses public and private across New York, and colleges will be required to annually distribute information on the hotline to students as well.

In this year’s state budget, $60 million was appropriated for the 988 crisis contact centers across New York — these are nonprofit organizations contracted to provide suicide prevention services in their communities and run their 988 contact centers off of state and federal grants. There are 15 contact centers in New York, the closest centers for the north country are Contact Community Services in East Syracuse and the Mobile Crisis Assessment Team of the Neighborhood Center in Utica. Centers take calls based on geographic closeness to the person calling, and are meant to provide localized care to callers.

“The best way to prevent suicide is to ask for help early if you’re feeling down, depressed or troubled,” said Dr. Ann Sullivan, commissioner of the state Office of Mental Health. “One of the most effective ways to get help is to call 988 and speak with a trained counselor and get whatever assistance you may need.”

Since the call centers opened in 2022, the New York locations have taken 478,388 calls, 75,661 texts and online chats, as well as 77,000 calls routed to the specialized 988 Veteran’s Crisis Line.

Suicide is the second largest cause of death for New Yorkers age 25 to 34, and the third largest cause of death for people age 10 to 24 — 1,765 New Yorkers died of suicide in 2022 according to the CDC, for a per-capita rate of 8.5 per 100,000 residents. New York has the third lowest suicide rate of all states and Washington, D.C. — far lower than the national average of 14.2 per 100,000.