That’s a deep question, Robyn. Here’s how I see it:

Yes, we should be of the mindset to prevent people from ending their lives. Suicidal thoughts aren’t functions of a healthy mind; they emerge from a crisis of mental/emotional health, whether that be acute or long-standing. The belief that one’s existence is of no value is an error of perception.

There is no such thing as a worthless person. But there are errors of perception that cause people to believe their existence has lost its value. Even if such a person doesn’t think of themselves as mentally ill, they are nonetheless in crisis, and people in crisis tend not to think clearly. They deserve compassionate intervention geared toward rescue. Because whenever they get out of crisis and are thinking clearly, they won’t think they want death anymore.

A crisis hotline will always aim to prevent suicide because anyone who reaches for help (or even thinks about reaching for help) is a person who truly, deep down in their soul, doesn’t actually want to die. And for absolutely every one of us, the possibility is always there — and, in fact, quite likely — that beautiful new experiences await somewhere in the future, at any moment, if we just hold on… and that we’ll be glad we’ve stuck around to experience them.

More than the fact that suicide is something to prevent, though, there is the fact that life is something to enjoy. This is why most crisis hotlines will try to help a suicidal person find professional support: a hotline might help the person survive the moment of crisis — but professionals can help the person move beyond questions of crisis-vs.-survival to a point where they can thrive.