I wish I'd had a deeper, nuanced understanding of this at an earlier point in my life. (It's a long story.) Anyhow: One useful thing we can do to prepare for a crisis is have a list of phone numbers on the fridge, taped up by the landline, or entered into mobile phone contacts. Instead of the word "hotline," think "warmline," toward deescalation. Here's a list of US phone numbers to have on hand: Community-Based Crisis Support Resources from Trans Lifeline.