988 crisis response: A promise in peril

988 crisis response: A promise in peril

Posted on June 10, 2021

Opinion piece by Patrick J. Kennedy and Daniel H. Gillison Jr., NAMI CEO, on the importance of 988 mental health crisis response and the opportunity to reduce avoidable ER visits; make better use of law enforcement resources; address long-standing inequities; and build healthier, more resilient communities. There’s no shortage of headlines about tragic outcomes for those living with mental health and substance use disorders in this country. Whether addressing rising suicide and overdose rates or fatal interactions with police, at the heart of these headlines is a gross inequity the U.S. has yet to fully acknowledge — the failure to provide a mental health response to mental health crises. This failure is driven by a deeply rooted systemic bias that is evident in the separate and unequal treatment of mental illness. It impacts every facet of society, contributing to tens of thousands of preventable deaths each year and fueling a dangerous undercurrent of stigma. At its most obvious, bias in our health care system is reflected in disparate access to care and higher costs for people with mental health and substance use disorders.