Starting on July 16, 2022, 988 is available nationwide as a number for people to call or text during mental health, substance use, or suicide crisis. Having an easy-to-remember, three-digit number will help more people connect easily and quickly with trained counselors during a crisis. This is an important first step to helping people in crisis and their families, but what does this three-digit number mean for you?
Every year, millions of mental health or suicidal crisis calls are made to 911 and local crisis lines. But unfortunately, when in-person help is needed, law enforcement — not a mental health professional — is often the only response available. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The availability of 988 will undoubtedly help more people connect directly to mental health support during a crisis, but it does not mean every community has a full crisis response system ready to help. Right now, the full system we need to have in place to respond to people in crisis who call or text 988 is not available in many communities in across the country. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop a robust mental health crisis response system that works for everyone. 988 is the first step, but the work to reimagine crisis response is only beginning.
Stay tuned for more episodes!
Subscribe to Freedom Project on:
Follow Freedom Project
About Freedom Project:
