Pandemic heightens focus on mental health care as new hotline number launches

Pandemic heightens focus on mental health care as new hotline number launches

Posted on March 30, 2022

In advance of the July launch of 988, mental health experts worry about workforce capacity issues and the ability to provide 24/7 crisis care. "Fortunately, most [states] are taking this as an opportunity and are working towards increasing their Lifeline call centers within the network," said Hannah Wesolowski, NAMI CAO. "But when somebody calls in, and they wait, and they hang up — we have one chance to get this right for a person. Lives are literally at risk. These are people who are in crisis, might be having suicidal ideation. It's incredibly risky when those calls don't get through." Wesolowski explained that local call centers connect people to mental health care providers in their communities, as well as other resources, while the backup centers may not be able to provide that service. "We want to deescalate the immediate crisis, which is what those trained crisis counselors do, but we also want to connect them to resources so they stay well," Wesolowski said. "We don't want to just have them keep cycling into crises — crisis after crisis — it's really important that they get connected to needed care so they can get well and stay well beyond that crisis situation. So it's those local crisis counselors that can really make those connections. When there's not that local capacity. It's a huge concern."