WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Canada’s new 24/7 suicide prevention hotline has been met with an overwhelming response since it launched nearly eight months ago, and for one local crisis responder, helping others has helped her come to terms with the death of a loved one.
In the first five months of 2024 alone, the 988 hotline received approximately 180,000 calls and text messages from people in crisis.
Nika Khosravi, an Ottawa-based crisis responder, told CBC Ottawa All of a Day Last week, she spoke about her involvement with the hotline.
“I lost one of my dearest friends to suicide last year,” Khosravi said.
“It was a huge blow to my community and to myself and forced me to do a lot of self-reflection. I didn’t have the skills and tools to talk to friends about suicide. That really needed to change.”
I didn’t have the skills or the tools to talk to friends about suicide, and that really needed to change.– Nika Khosravi
Khosravi began volunteering at the Ottawa Distress Centre, where she received training and logged more than 200 hours of volunteer work on the hotline.
“I decided we needed more support than this so we spun it off into 988 and now we can provide support to people across the country who are experiencing suicidal thoughts,” she said.
8:15What happens when you call a suicide hotline?
Nika Khosravi tells All In A Day what it’s like to work as a crisis responder for the suicide prevention hotline 9-8-8 and how the experience changed her life.
Training for work
Khosravi said. All of a Day She spoke about the training she received at the Ottawa Distress Centre, which included a two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training program.
As part of the training, Khosravi was taught how to recognise invitations to seek help, how to ask directly about suicide and how to connect people to further support and resources.
The training was “very helpful in discussing suicide,” she said.
“The first step is recognizing that someone is inviting you to talk about suicide,” she said.
“Being confident enough to ask, ‘Are you thinking about suicide?’ can tell them a lot and they can start talking to you about it.”
Demands on responders and support systems
Khosravi said the support system for 988 responders includes “escalation specialists” who help when more is needed than just what’s on the phone.
“They’re there when a phone call just isn’t enough, like when you need to call 911,” Khosravi said.
The 988 service is federally funded and available to all Canadians in English and French. Calls and texts to 988 are routed to a network of community partners across the country who provide suicide prevention services, including counselling.
When you call 988, you will first hear a greeting informing you that you have been connected to the suicide prevention line and will be asked which official language you would like to speak.
The privacy message is followed by a link to more information. Children, teens and Indigenous peoples can choose to access services that are specifically directed to them.
If you or someone you know is suffering, here are some places to get help:
