Mental health advocates seek crisis hotline expansion resources

Mental health advocates seek crisis hotline expansion resources

Posted on August 4, 2021

Advocates are citing growing mental health concerns during the pandemic and the implementation of a bipartisan 2020 law designated the three-digit phone number 9-8-8 as the new number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a 24/7 crisis hotline that will connect callers with immediate counseling or referrals for local mental health services. The new number is set to take effect on July 16, 2022, but advocates want to build crisis care infrastructure and add resources before then. More than two dozen organizations asked Congress in May for a larger long-term funding increase. “Significant investments are needed to develop an infrastructure to successfully stand up an effective 988 crisis response system, especially given the upcoming July 2022 timeline,” the groups, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness, wrote in a letter requesting $10 billion in an infrastructure package.