Making 9-8-8 as common as 9-1-1

The hope of one prominent Oconeean is that a new three-digit phone number, 9-8-8, will be as easy to remember as 9-1-1.  The number 9-8-8, according to Hal Dunlap, is the number to call for mental health assistance.  And, according to what Dunlap told the Westminster Rotary Club, there’s probably no time in history when Americans are more in need of mental health help.  The Dunlap family was changed forever when Mr. Dunlap’s son, Mark, took his own life at age 35 eight years ago.  And now Hal Dunlap is engaged in a campaign to throw some light on a dark subject.  He believes the more that the subject of suicide can be discussed the more likely lives can be saved.  Victims of suicide seem to be getting younger and younger, and the military remains a profession that is plagued by them.  Overall, in the country, he says, there is one suicide every 12 minutes.