Charlestown Senator Victoria Gu introduces bill to add suicide and substance abuse crisis hotline numbers to school IDs

Connecting kids to help they need

Sen. Victoria Gu and Rep. Earl A. Read III have introduced legislation to include the phone numbers of suicide prevention and substance abuse crisis hotlines on student ID cards.

“With the increasing mental health challenges facing young people, it’s important to put every available resource at their fingertips, literally,” said Senator Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown). “These hotlines are anonymous, available 24/7 and give students an opportunity to open up about their struggles with a trained professional.”

Representative Read, who served for 23 years with the Warwick Police Department, stressed the importance of these hotlines in preventing mental health struggles from becoming tragedies.

“Children know to call 911 in an emergency, but far fewer of them know to call 988, the national suicide and crisis number, or similar hotlines when they are struggling with mental health or substances,” said Representative Read (D-Dist. 26, Coventry, West Warwick, Warwick). “These resources are so important in helping those in crisis—especially young people—get help and navigate their struggles before they become an emergency. Putting these resources directly on IDs makes them easily accessible to everyone and prevents them from having to track down these resources when they are already struggling.”

According to the CDC, the suicide rate among people aged 10-24 increased by 62% between 2007 and 2021.

The legislation (2026-S 2348, 2026-H 7026) would require that all middle and high schools that issue ID cards to students, teachers or staff include on those cards both the telephone number for a state or national suicide prevention hotline and substance abuse crisis center. Both requirements may be met if the phone number is for an organization that provides both suicide and substance abuse assistance services. The phone numbers may be printed directly on the ID card or on a sticker attached to the ID card.

Several states have passed similar legislation, including Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Washington, South Carolina, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, California and Wisconsin. A similar bill is currently being considered in Massachusetts.