Cut$ hit suicide hot line

Cut$ hit suicide hot line

One of New York's two major suicide hot lines will go silent unless the city Health Department rescinds a $247,150 budget cut, alarmed officials warned yesterday.

"It's a major mistake that will literally cost this city money, precious free resources and -- most important -- people's lives," Fiodhna O'Grady, director of operations for The Samaritans, testified at a City Council budget hearing.

The two-decade-old group handled 65,000 calls last year alone, O'Grady noted.

A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, Marc LaVorgna, countered that LifeNet, the other 24-hour hot line, could pick up the slack.

But officials at The Samaritans pointed out that they provide intensive counseling while LifeNet is an information-referral service.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/cut_hit_suicide_hot_line_n7TCtQAfcMVrkwbJP0m4jI?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=#ixzz0qH4M9j29

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