Envisioned as the 911 for mental health, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will soon be 988, with more services for more callers. But it’s already straining to meet demand.

In advance of the rollout of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's new three-digit number, legislators have announced a bill to help fund its implementation.

The bill includes federal funding and guidance for states and localities preparing for the July launch, including mental health block grants and $100 million to partner with cities on mobile crisis response teams to help stabilize people in need. It would also increase the amount of federal funding for the Lifeline, which runs a national backup network to receive calls that can't be picked up at the state and local levels, and provide $10 million for an awareness campaign about the new 988 number -- modeled after 911.

New Jersey lawmakers are calling for a coordinated effort to improve access and affordability for mental health care, just days after a special report by NJ Advance Media chronicled the harrowing experience of a suicidal teenager and his family.

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden) and other Democratic lawmakers introduced six bills Thursday aimed at helping mental health patients, including a pilot program to transform urgent care centers to provide 24/7 mental health care.

High school students across New Jersey, take note. You would get to sleep in a little later before class under a new proposal spurred by what experts and officials say is a growing mental health crisis among young people.

Two lawmakers, including the leader of the state Assembly, introduced a bill this week that would require classes start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. at New Jersey high schools, beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

Recently, the death of police Officer Jeffrey Smith — one of two police officers who committed suicide within days of responding to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol — was ruled a line-of-duty death.

Undoubtedly, this marks one of the first times a police officer’s suicide has been ruled a line-of-duty death. Hopefully, this will begin a conversation about both the stigma associated with police suicides and depression, and the mental health and wellness of police officers, who experience cumulative trauma over the course of their careers. We need to talk about it.

Amy Kennedy received a call this week that a former student of hers had died after a drug overdose.

The funeral will be the third in the past six months for students she taught while she was a public school teacher, Kennedy said Monday as she urged lawmakers to take immediate steps to address the current mental health crisis.

“There is no time to wait. We can’t wait until next September. We can’t wait until May, when it’s Mental Health Month,” said Kennedy, education director of the Kennedy Forum and a member of the national board for Mental Health America.

Immigrant students in New Jersey need more support in schools to address their unique mental health needs, a new report from immigrant youth advocates states.

A child’s experience migrating to a new country can be traumatic, isolating, and distressing — on top of that, the pandemic has caused significant loss and grief for immigrant and refugee communities.

Last April, a high school senior in Utah named Gabriela Merida joined a student town hall hosted by her governor. She introduced herself, noted the pronouns she used and broached the subject of mental health challenges facing young L.G.B.T.Q. people. How, she asked, did the state plan to help constituencies like hers?

“My preferred pronouns are ‘he,’ ‘him’ and ‘his,’ so thank you for sharing yours with me,” Gov. Spencer J. Cox, a Republican, replied. “We want everyone to feel included. We want everyone to feel safe. And we want everyone to understand that they belong.”

One year later, the Republican-controlled Utah State Legislature has passed a measure to bar transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports, overriding Mr. Cox’s veto. His mention of his pronouns has become fodder for right-wing derision and misleading video clips. And deep-red Utah is now at the center of a new fight that is reordering the nation’s politics, roiling its education system — and, for some Americans, shaking their sense of belonging as a midterm election year unfolds.