Can A Student ID Card Save Teen Lives

Is a Digital Student ID Card the breakthrough we need to help save teens?

Schools today are facing an increasing, and necessary pressure to offer readily available mental health resources to students. Districts recognize the need to be aware and proactive in regard to the mental health crisis amongst youths and are ready to take further steps to ensure their students have the resources they need at all times. 

The CDC says that between 2007 and 2018, the national suicide rate among people aged 10-24 went up by 57 percent. It’s hard to say exactly why the rate has increased, but nonetheless, districts and principals are ready to take action with a student ID card.

As a result of this unprecedented increase, legislators are implementing innovative measures to try and combat these growing numbers. The US Senate passed a new federal bill in late 2020 that would from now on require that colleges and universities add suicide prevention hotlines to their student identification cards. 

Following suit an increasing number of states including California, Illinois, Arizona, South Carolina, Washington, New Jersey, and so many more, are now mandating that middle and high school students have specific life-saving hotlines readily available on the backside of their Student IDs.

We know suicide rates amongst youth keep rising, but these tragedies are preventable. New laws and guidelines not only provide students with access to the help they need, but they also destigmatize talk around mental health, providing a more open stream of communication that can save lives. #BellLetsTalk has been a big step in the right direction, not only for youth in crisis but for everyone. Normalizing the use of these helplines and the discussion around needing help can save lives, and Bell Let’s Talk has proven that by raising over 129$ million for mental health funding in total over the last 12 years. So how do we take a page out of Bell’s Book and keep moving forward?

Minga’s Digital Student ID Card could be your next tool for helping students who need it most. 

Having the necessary hotlines readily available for students to call or text when they are in a time of crisis is so important. When students forget or lose their ID cards they are left with nothing in these situations. Switching to a Digital Student ID Card ensures that they will never be out of arm’s reach. Students can access their Digital ID on any device, without access to wifi, through an app or browser. Knowing that students have this safety blanket of constant and immediate accessibility and reliability can help everyone in your community feel a sense of relief. When students are feeling tremendous turmoil typing in a phone number can feel like a monumental task, this is why with the Minga ID, all they have to do is click the line they want to call and it will immediately dial the number for the student.

Every school has a different culture and a different collection of students, all with different needs. There are a large collection of hotlines to help people in distress but it’s near impossible to fit more than 1-2 on a plastic ID card. With the Minga Digital Student ID Card, you can add the necessary and required helplines to the ID and any other numbers that could help keep your student body safe. We recognize how important it can be to offer a Spanish language helpline to those who prefer it, and an LGBTQ+IA number so that everyone can feel they have somewhere to call if needed. 

Minga recognizes a growing need for student well-being. We have made it one of our key priorities to ensure your students have access to a safer and more comfortable campus experience. 

If you’re looking for helpful mental health hotlines we’ve included some below. As we said above, sometimes students need access to more specific care and a more informed audience. Check out some of our additional numbers listed below that we consider to be lifesaving resources for students who need listeners who possess a focused knowledge of a particular demographic. 

On the Student ID Card

Suicide Prevention Hotline:
Call 988
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 
Call 1 800 799 SAFE (7233)
Text START (88788)

Additional Numbers

For more resources be sure to check out these articles:
Turning Grief Into Positive Action
What Schools Can Do to Save Teen’s Lives
S.1782 – Improving Mental Health Access for Students Act
ISBE to Require Suicide Prevention Hotlines on Student ID Cards.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline will be printed on student ID cards in several states
Bell Let’s Talk Day 2022: The Results and The Future
Suicide And Alcohol Abuse Facts