News Article

Share:

Global Content Zone 1

Wisconsin, nation gear up for 988 mental health crisis hotline

Wisconsin State Journal
May 17, 2022

May 17—In less than two months, a yearslong effort to make it easier for people with mental health or substance abuse crises to get help will culminate in an easy-to-remember hotline number: 988.

On July 16, the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will relaunch as 988, though the existing number — (800) 273-8255 — will remain in effect. Instead of calling 911, which may connect people with law enforcement, dialing or texting 988 — or using 988 as a chat code — will link those in crisis with people trained to help them.

While call centers in Wisconsin and around the country are gearing up for the change, a shortage of staff and logistical challenges may result in a gradual transition while the move helps to unify a patchwork of services, a federal official said Tuesday.

"System change of this magnitude will not happen overnight," John Palmieri, acting director of 988 at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said during a media call. "988 has also galvanized a field which has struggled in the past with fragmentation and gaps."

Five call centers across Wisconsin currently answer the Lifeline calls, two of them operated by Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin in Green Bay. As the official host of the Wisconsin Lifeline Center, Family Services will field all 988 calls once the line goes live.

The center, launched in 2020, received 2.6 million calls, chats and texts in its inaugural year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. That includes more than 20,000 phone calls from Wisconsin residents, with the rest being chat messages and texts.

Journey Mental Health Center in Madison also currently fields Lifeline calls. Its local crisis line is (608) 280-2600.

John Draper, executive director of Vibrant Emotional Health, said the 200 call centers involved with Lifeline nationally expect an increase in calls and need more workers. Vibrant has been administering the program for nearly 17 years.

"It's a new number, but we're building on an existing service," Draper said. "Our centers are looking for people who are willing to step up and do this work."

Taun Hall said she hopes 988 "will give innocent people a chance to live."

Hall is the mother of Miles Hall, 23, who was shot and killed by police in 2019 in Walnut Creek, California, during a domestic incident. Hall's grandmother called 911 to say he had threatened her. Hall's mother also called police saying he threatened her and telling them he had a mental illness, according to media reports.

"Our family needed another number to call," Taun Hall said Tuesday, "that was staffed with mental health professionals."

Maia Pandey of Medill News Service contributed to this report.

------

___

(c)2022 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.)

Visit The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) at www.wisconsinstatejournal.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Global Content Zone 2