Poverty and Suicide: How Economic Struggles Drive Mental Health Crises in the U.S.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”

As a teenager, Rei Scott spent several weeks living out of a car with four family members and their dog. Each day, Scott worried about where they would spend the following night. One day at school, Scott snuck away to the bathroom and called the national suicide hotline.

Scott, who is transgender and nonbinary, explained to the hotline counselor that the family had struggled with poverty for years. They had lived in crumbling homes with water leaks, or a family member’s basement with no privacy. Sometimes, the family worried about having enough food. The stress and anxiety were constant, and Scott had been suicidal many times.

The counselor seemed shocked into silence, Scott said. Eventually, the person provided reassurance and kindness. But what Scott really needed that day—a decade ago and many times since—was a solution to the economic difficulties that had become an unbearable weight.

“It can definitely help to have someone who can listen, but when you’re struggling to eat and you don’t have a roof to be under, I honestly don’t think words can go as far as you need them to,”

said Scott, who now studies social work at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Over the years, Scott has been directed to hospitals and therapists. But those interventions generally don’t address core problems, such as a broken-down car or an eviction notice.

“There’s so many times in my life where I’ve thought if I had $5,000, I wouldn’t even be suicidal right now,”

Scott said.

People don’t typically think of suicide as an issue of economics, but research shows it often is. Decades of studies reveal that unemployment, low income, high debt, unstable housing, and food insecurity significantly increase suicide risk. Conversely, policies that reduce financial strain—such as raising the minimum wage, providing food assistance, offering tax credits, and expanding health insurance coverage—are linked to lower suicide rates.

If someone can cover their basic needs, their life will feel more stable. Other countries have long incorporated economic solutions into suicide prevention strategies. But in the U.S., suicide prevention has historically been framed as a medical issue, placing responsibility on clinicians to provide medication or therapy. Economic solutions are frequently overlooked.

Some advocates and individuals with lived experience, like Scott, are pushing for a broader approach. They argue that traditional suicide prevention methods have failed to curb the crisis. For decades, the U.S. has had one of the highest suicide rates among high-income countries.

Rethinking Suicide Prevention Beyond Therapy and Hotlines

To make progress, “we all need to be challenged to broaden our aperture, to broaden the lens of what is mental health,” said Benjamin Miller, a national expert in mental health policy and an adjunct professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The most effective interventions may not be adding more crisis lines or increasing access to therapy alone.

Miller and others advocate for policies that address the economic roots of despair. For example, studies show that a $1 increase in the minimum wage is associated with a 3.5% to 6% decrease in suicide rates among adults with a high school education or less. Similarly, the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act was linked to a 6% reduction in suicides.

Scott’s story underscores the urgency of this shift. After years of instability, they found stability through education and community support—but many others remain trapped in cycles of poverty and crisis. The message from advocates is clear: lasting change requires addressing the economic conditions that make life feel unbearable.