Callers keep flooding 988 mental health, suicide helpline

[Stevicus]

Callers keep flooding 988 mental health, suicide helpline | AP News

I knew about the crisis line, but I hadn't heard of 988 until now.

HYATTSVILLE, Md. (AP) — When Jamieson Brill answers a crisis call from a Spanish speaker on the newly launched national 988 mental health helpline, he rarely mentions the word suicide, or “suicidio”

Brill, whose family hails from Puerto Rico, knows that just discussing the term in some Spanish-speaking cultures is so frowned upon that many callers are too scared to even admit that they’re calling for themselves.

“However strong stigma around mental health concerns is in English-speaking cultures, in Spanish-speaking cultures it is triple that,” said Brill, who helps people navigate mental health crises from a tiny brick building tucked away in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Brill works in one of more than 200 call centers fanned out around the country tasked with answering an uptick in calls day and night from people considering suicide or experiencing a mental health emergency.

With bipartisan congressional support and just under $1 billion in federal funds, the 988 mental health helpline has quickly expanded its reach in the six months since it launched — with over 2 million calls, texts and chat messages pouring in.

The number of centers answering calls in Spanish grew from three to seven last year. A pilot line dedicated to LGBTQ youth started taking calls in September. And plans are underway to keep the momentum going, with the federal government adding Spanish language chat and text options later this year and aiming to expand those services to a 24/7 operation for the LGBTQ line.

When the around-the-clock phone launched last summer, it built on the existing network that staffed the old national lifeline, 1-800-273-8255. The new 988 number is designed to be as easy to remember as 911.

It couldn’t have come at a more needed time: Depression rates in U.S. adults, overdose deaths and suicide rates have been on the rise.

“The call volume is, in some instances, well beyond what we anticipated,” said Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, assistant secretary for mental health and substance use in the Department of Health and Human Services. “It does let us know that people are struggling, people are having a hard time. Where I feel heartened is that people are getting connected to services and supports, as oppose to struggling on their own.”

States are expected to receive more money to fund the line from t he $1.7 trillion end-of-the year spending package, which set aside another half-billion dollars for the project.

Still, long-term funding for the 988 helpline is in jeopardy in some states, which have yet to figure out a permanent funding plan for it. While the federal government has poured millions of dollars into the project, states are expected to take over the operation and funding of the 988 line — just as they do with 911 emergency call services.

So far, fewer than 20 states have passed legislation to permanently fund their 988 line, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health Illness.

In Ohio, for example, advocates are pushing for the state legislature to sign off on a 50-cent fee that would be tacked onto cellphone bills, raising roughly $50 million to $55 million every year to operate the line, said Tony Coder of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.

“Quite frankly, lives depend on it,” Coder said. “The need for 988 services is more crucial than ever, simply because of the aftermath and the mental health issues from COVID.”

The article mentioned that depression rates, overdose rates, and suicide rates are on the rise. So, there is a clear need for this service, although it seems that more needs to be done.

 

[PureX]

I wonder why they are preferring to text? Are they afraid of some kind of back tracing?

 

[VoidCat]

I got the suicide helpline saved on my phone. Several of them in fact in case they needed

 

[VoidCat]

I wonder why they are preferring to text? Are they afraid of some kind of back tracing?

Maybe it's cuz to some it's easier to write then to say what's wrong?

Edit: also folk can't overhear you.

 

[ChristineM]

I wonder why they are preferring to text? Are they afraid of some kind of back tracing?

Some suffering mental health issues find talking with someone problematic. Schizophrenics may hear several voices at the same time, the problem does not arise with text

 

[JustGeorge]

I wonder why they are preferring to text? Are they afraid of some kind of back tracing?

I find that's just where the culture's gravitated, and its what people prefer; one friend told me its because they can 'polish' their response.

It doesn't surprise me that the hotline is flooding with text; there are some people who are unwilling to speak on the phone(usually the under 30 crowd, but not always) and will choose not to have a conversation if it means they will have to use their voice.

I guess its good they have the option if it means they won't reach out otherwise.