9-8-8 Is Finally Here

 

Starting June 16th 988 is here. 

I have supported the move to 988 for our national suicide and crisis lifeline and have sent various messages to my elected officials to keep it going and to work to give 988 the funding it needs to work. 988 is so important because when someone is in crisis or knows someone in crisis remembering a long phone number is likely the last thing of their minds. (As was shown in this comedic clip from the IT Crowd*)  988 is much easier to remember. 

Here is are some selections from an article on NPR

The new 988 crisis number is about to launch. Here's what to know
July 15, 2022 by RHITU CHATTERJEET

Starting July 16, people in mental health crisis will have a new way to reach out for help. Instead of dialing the current 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, they can simply call or text the numbers 9-8-8.

Modeled after 911, the new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is designed to be a memorable and quick number that connects people who are suicidal or in any other mental health crisis to a trained mental health professional.

Currently, the majority of people experiencing a mental health emergency end up dialing 911.

The problem is that 911 wasn't set up to address mental health needs. Either callers end up in a frenetic emergency room, waiting for hours and sometimes days to get care, or they end up interacting with law enforcement, which can lead to tragedy or trauma.

The goal of the effort behind 988 is to ultimately reduce these kinds of confrontations with law enforcement and connect people in crisis to help right away. It's part of a longer-term effort to ramp up mental emergency response teams around the country.

The 988 lifeline will connect people to the existing network of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. (The 10-digit suicide prevention number — 1-800-273-8255 — will remain active, but calls will be routed to 988 once that three-digit number launches.)

People who call or text the number will be connected to a trained counselor at a crisis center closest to them. If a local crisis center is too busy to respond right away, the call gets routed to one of 16 backup centers around the country.

According to the HHS, in 2021 the lifeline received 3.6 million calls, chats and texts. But a 2021 report by SAMHSA found that the current system is able to respond to only 85% of calls, 56% of texts and 30% of chats.

Health officials project that the number of calls, chats and texts will at least double in the first full year after 988 goes live.

To prepare for this rise in demand, the federal government has made significant investments in the network.

More than $400 million — up from $24 million — has gone toward beefing up the capacity of local and backup call centers and providing associated services, including a subnetwork for Spanish speakers, according to a statement from the HHS.

And he's already seeing an impact on the lifeline's ability to respond to those who reach out, he says. For example, he says, "right now we're answering over 90% of our chats. And this time last year it was closer to 20 to 23%."

It will take time for 988 to reach its ultimate goal, advocates say.

"The transition to 988 has come to represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revisit and reconceptualize how crisis services are resourced and delivered in communities across the country," says Colleen Carr, director of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention at Education Development Center.

*I am in no way making fun of people in crisis but the clip clearly shows that long phone numbers don't tend to be useful in an emergency