Content warning: This story contains information and statistics about suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, please call 988.
From a young age, most children learn to call 911 for life-threatening emergencies, but only 74% of Americans have heard of the 988 number, the national suicide and crisis hotline. Striving to change this, senior government major Carson Domey created the Coalition for Student Wellbeing to add 988 on the back of student IDs. Already impacting students at universities including the University of Georgia, University of Florida and Oregon State by adding 988 to both physical and digital IDs, Domey said they hope to impact a million students through their program.
In fall 2020, The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act passed into law with a provision to turn the previous 10-digit number into 988. Becoming active in 2022, the line received positive public response, yet little familiarity with the organization’s capabilities. A 2023 poll from the National Alliance on Mental Illness recorded 27% of people aged 18-29 recognized 988. That number has risen to 82%, due to the efforts of individuals and organizations spreading the word, one method being a state-wide mandate to include 988 on student IDs.
“The age group that we’re in is a time of a lot of change and transition for young people everywhere that (privies us) to either be exposed to (our) own mental health challenges or mental illness,” Domey said. “(Including 988 on IDs) is a great way to promote the resource in a medium that students already utilize.”
Domey started the nonprofit Coalition for Student Wellbeing (C4SW) in 2024, allowing students to advocate for mental health in their schools and state legislatures nationwide. Domey said the national advocacy campaign targets the largest enrollment schools in 35 states that currently do not require 988 on ID by law.
“When we founded the coalition, one of our main philosophies (is) how to have as many avenues available for students to engage with whatever commitment level they’re at as possible,” Domey said.
Kristen Christy, a UT alumna and co-founder of the 988 suicide hotline, recently joined forces with Domey to expand his initiative to middle schools and high schools. Christy said all of the work and tears of her 12-year project were worth it if there’s one person who used 988 to help find a will to live.
“Of 100 people that seek mental health services, only 20% need a licensed therapist,” Christy said. “80% just need someone to listen to them. … We don’t know how to listen as a society …
We need people to feel more comfortable about calling 988, whether it’s for themselves or they have someone they care about that’s going through a crisis.”
C4SW works actively with a board of specialists and university leaders to impart their message across the nation. In an email, Chris Brownson, associate vice president for health and well-being in the Division of Student Affairs at UT and an active advisory board member for C4SW, wrote that any effort to raise student awareness about the existence of crisis resources is a worthy endeavor.
“These initiatives to place crisis line numbers on the back of student IDs are a great idea,” Brownson wrote. “It ensures that students always have this life-saving resource within arm’s reach.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated an organization’s name. The story has been updated here to reflect the accurate information. The Texan regrets this error.
