A year with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: What worked? What challenges lie ahead?

for someone reaching out to 988 — by calling or texting — to reach a counselor, according to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. A year ago, that average was one minute and 20 seconds.

In May, according to SAMHSA, 988 received about 71,000 texts nationwide with a 99% response rate, compared with 8,300 texts in May 2022 with an 82% response rate.More than half of Americans have heard of 988, but only a small fraction understand how the hotline operates. According to NAMI's survey, only 17% of people who responded said they were"very/somewhat familiar" with the hotline.

, which operates the hotline, is working to incorporate geo-routing into the system, which would help identify callers' regions — but not exact locations — making it possible to connect them to local counseling groups and other mental health services.people responded on social media Fewer than 2% of calls end up involving law enforcement, she said, and most are de-escalated over the phone.

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