COVINGTON, Ky. — After Northern Kentucky communities saw a rise in deaths by suicide, one nonprofit launched a crisis response program that hopes to save lives.
“In all of our counties, the number of deaths by suicide are higher than what we’ve seen in the past,” said Stephanie Vogel, director of population health for the Northern Kentucky Health Department.
Those counties are Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties. In 2024, Boone County saw the highest number of deaths by suicide, with 27; they had 19 in 2023.
Campbell saw 17 deaths by suicide in 2024, while Grant saw seven and Kenton saw 20, according to the Northern Kentucky Department of Health.
“This is obviously very concerning to us,” said Vogel.
Hear how one nonprofit is working to combat suicide rates:
Trends in Northern Kentucky also show that calls to 988, the suicide and mental health hotline, are increasing.
“Our call volume, up in Northern Kentucky, has been up,” said Philip Parrott, Crisis & 988 Director for NorthKey Community Care. “Probably 20%, over the last three or four months.”
That’s why NorthKey Community Care decided to launch the Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), a free, in-between safe space for those experiencing a mental health crisis who don’t need hospitalization, but may not feel safe being on their own.
“The best service that we can offer is saying hey, you know if you feel like you’re not safe, if you feel like you’re not in a good uh mental health state or mindspace, please come to CSU to let us help you,” said Parrott.
Those in need are connected to the unit when someone calls 988 or NorthKey’s Crisis number, at 859-331-3292, with a crisis. If the situation is dire enough, they'll be connected to a therapist who will assess the situation.
“If they determine at that point, ‘Hey, they’re actually in a critical crisis,’ then they make the next steps to get the client here,” said Parrott.
And those next steps are immediate. If someone is not able to bring you to the crisis stabilization unit, then NorthKey will send someone to pick them up.
“We bring them here, we do the assessment, we do escalation skills, coping skills, any further resources, we get them set up with providers,” said Parrott.
If they wish to, anyone who receives help from the unit can stay for up to 23 hours.
Currently, the unit only accepts new patients Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, but they hope to be 24/7 within the next 60 days.
If you're in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 — or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
