With calls increasing and waiting times improving, early signs seemed to suggest the new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline could help address the nation’s unmet mental health need. But questions remain.
After the change, the data indicates that the simplified number may be delivering on its promise. Lifeline encounter volume, which includes phone calls, texts and messages via the network’s chat line, totaled 350,629 in September 2022, an increase of nearly 33% over the 264,639 contacts in September 2022. 2021, according to figures from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrationthat funds the 988 system, and vibrant emotional healthwho manages it.
The response rate to contacts improved from 63% to 88%, while the average speed of responses through the national network of call centers accelerated from 2 minutes and 51 seconds in September 2021 to 42 seconds in September of 2022.
Despite those gains, the data also indicates that overall contacts are slowing slightly, raising questions about whether 988 may one day overtake 911 as the first number people think to dial in a mental health crisis. Figures from last September indicate that the number of encounters fell 3% compared to August, the first full month after the launch of the triple-digit line, and was down 1% from the number of vital encounters reported in July. . Phone calls specifically fell 7% from August to September, although chats were up 3% and text messages were up 12%.
Stakeholders say a major challenge is a lack of general public awareness about 988. Results from a recent survey of more than 2,000 adults conducted between July 28 and August 9 to CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that while 90% acknowledged there was a mental health crisis in the US, 56% said they had heard “nothing at all” about 988.
Any potential slowdown in vital encounters comes at a time when demand for mental health care is high. a recent KFF analysis of federal data found that 33% of adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression compared to just 11% in 2019.
Experts believe that raising awareness of 988 is the crucial next step needed for the number to become ingrained in people’s minds as the number one resource to turn to during a mental health emergency.
“We know that this country is in a mental health crisis and more and more people need help and are struggling, and I don’t anticipate that that will level off,” says Hannah Wesolowski, director of advocacy for the National Alliance on Mental Health. Illness.
In FloridaThe Tampa Bay Crisis Center has 988 contacts for the surrounding area, with a team of approximately seven specialists available 24/7 to help people who contact Lifeline.
Eric Bledsoe, director of gateway services for the center, says his team has seen a fourfold increase in the average number of weekly calls after the launch of 988, jumping from about 100 a week before July to 400 a week. .
While Bledose feels the center is equipped to meet demand, he notes that delays in funding the initial program made it difficult to plan for the anticipated increase in volume.
“It was really difficult to prepare and staff because the funding didn’t get approved until early August,” says Bledsoe.
Ken Gibson, senior director of marketing and public relations for the Tampa Bay Crisis Center, feels this period has served more as a “soft launch” for the system to ensure Call centers across the country developed adequate capacity to handle more contacts. That may help explain why he says federal and state lawmakers have yet to really prioritize marketing campaigns to raise awareness of 988.
“Wisely, I think they wanted to make sure the infrastructure was built before the big push,” says Gibson.
Wesolowski agrees that the lack of a full awareness campaign was partly by design to give call centers time to identify and address potential gaps in their systems that could hamper their ability to handle an influx of 988 users.
But Wesolowski says he expects lawmakers over the next year to ramp up public promotion of 988, as confidence in the system’s readiness continues to grow.
“To me, it shows that a lot of the investments made at the federal and state levels are paying off at just the right time when people are realizing this and reaching out for help,” says Wesolowski. “I anticipate that when resources are available for widespread public awareness efforts, that volume will continue to increase.”
Kyle Kinney, program manager for Boys Town, a nonprofit that takes 988 calls Nebraska and has his national hotlineHe describes his team’s transition to 988 as relatively seamless, thanks in large part to having the infrastructure in place statewide to support calls well before July.
Since 988 debuted, Boys Town has so far seen an increase from 30 to 50 emergency calls daily, which are handled by a full-time staff of approximately 20 trained professionals. Kinney expects call volumes to continue to rise as more marketing commits to raising awareness of 988.
“I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to growth,” says Kinney.
Danielle Bennett, a spokeswoman for SAMHSA’s parent agency, the US Department of Health and Human Services, tells US News in an email that HHS is “…working with Congress to secure federal resources for a national campaign to publicize or promote awareness of 988 to the public.”
Bennett mentioned that SAMHSA has provided resources to its 988 members in the form of a Toolboxwhat includes national guidelinespromotional documents, radio public service announcement scripts, PowerPoint slides for presentations, and content graphics to share on social media.
Locally, Bledsoe says awareness efforts have included printing 988 information on the back of ID cards for students attending public high schools in Hillsborough, Florida – the county surrounding your crisis center. He hopes the real test for the system will come once stronger national efforts take off.
“We really believe that there are even more people who are still not communicating for different reasons,” says Bledsoe. “Marketing is really going to get those people to realize there’s something out there for them.”
Chuck Ingoglia, president and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellness, says the 988 system is the first of three pillars needed for the nation to build a system of care that can respond effectively to people in health crises. mental.
In addition to 988, says states need appropriate and effective in-person mobile crisis intervention teams to be the first responders to those experiencing a mental health emergency, as well as places of rest other than hospital or jail emergency rooms. where people in crisis can get stabilized before receiving treatment.
“You think about 911, and while it’s not perfect, they’ve figured out who’s responsible for doing what and they’ve built an infrastructure so that in most parts of the country you can get a fairly timely response,” says Ingoglia.
Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, medical director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, says 988 is part of an ultimate goal to reduce the country’s reliance on police as first responders to people experiencing a suicide crisis. mental health. Of the roughly 1,000 people shot dead by police in 2015, about 25% had signs of mental illness, according to a study published in the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry.
Ultimately, Moutier says any effort to establish a more robust response to mental health crises will involve normalizing the discussion of behavioral health and removing any stigma associated with calling a crisis line for help.
“That’s a longer game strategy that essentially relies on each state to implement its multiple layers of what we consider to be a crisis response system that needs to be reinvented and overhauled,” says Moutier.
.
