In the News

The Federal Communications Commission is moving forward with plans to make 988 the nation's suicide prevention hotline in the face of a mental health pandemic that claims more than 130 Americans each day.

Low pay, fewer advancement opportunities and an excessive workload rank as the top reasons the military services fail to recruit and retain psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health providers, according to a new Defense Department report.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has announced plans to install a $1.7 million modular building at its City of Industry station to enhance de-escalation training for deputies who interact with the mentally ill.

Industry City Council members on Sept. 28 authorized their staff to begin accepting bids for the project.

Mental health stigma is back on the rise, thanks to the political response to mass shootings, a new study featured in Health Affairs says.

Mental illness, substance abuse and physical disabilities are much more pervasive in Los Angeles County's homeless population than officials have previously reported, a Times analysis has found.

The rate of suicide among military troops increased to its highest level in five years, according to a report released Thursday by the Pentagon.

The rate of suicide among active-duty troops was 24.8 per 100,000 people in 2018. In 2017, that figure was 21.9 per 100,000 troops. Five years ago, the suicide rate among troops was 18.5 per 100,000 service members.

A cluster of three suicides in less than a week among one ship's crew has shocked the United States Navy, raising questions about why the suicide rate in the service has climbed sharply in recent years, despite sustained efforts at prevention.

The three deaths were all sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush, which is in dry dock in Norfolk, Va., for extensive repairs.

A first-of-its-kind mental health survey of police, firefighters and 911 call dispatchers in Virginia finds that they experience suicidal thoughts at a rate of more than double the general population and that nearly a quarter suffer from work-related depression.