Poll of Public Perspectives on 988 & Crisis Response (2023)

A NAMI-Ipsos poll conducted in Summer 2023 found that most Americans are not familiar with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Additionally, the poll found that there’s strong bipartisan support for policy solutions and funding to expand the capacity of 988 call centers and the availability of related crisis services – even when people are not personally familiar with 988 or know anyone who has contacted the 988 Lifeline. Dig into these results further with this slide deck.

Key Findings On 988 Awareness:

• 82% of Americans are not familiar with 988.
  • LGBTQ+ Americans are twice as likely to say they are familiar with 988 than non- LGBTQ+ Americans.
  • Americans 49 and under are more likely than older Americans to have heard of 988, with 18–29-year-olds more likely to report being familiar than other age groups (27% vs. 18% for 30-49, 11% for 50-64 and 13% for 65+ adults).
• Only 3% of Americans polled had called 988 for themselves, and 3% had called for a loved one.
  • LGBTQ+ Americans are more likely than non-LGBTQ+ Americans to have say they or a loved one have contacted 988.
• About 3 in 5 Americans are wrong about or do not know that contacting 988 connects a person experiencing a mental health crisis to needed services and support and that it can de-escalate a situation where a person is suicidal.
  • Roughly 4 in 5 do not know or are wrong about whether calling 988 always leads to an in-person response.
  • More than 2 in 5 individuals still say they don’t know what to do if someone they love is experiencing a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide – the exact situations that 988 is intended to address.
• 4 in 5 Americans trust that they would receive the help needed if they called 988.
• When asked to choose what is most important, being able to speak with a crisis counselor immediately rises to the top of the list for people when thinking about a situation where they may need to call 988.

Key Findings On Funding 988 And Crisis Services:

• Half of Americans say that funding the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline should be a high or the highest priority for Congress.
  • Black and Hispanic Americans are also more likely than white Americans to say that the 988 Suicide & Crisis should be the highest priority for federal funding (27% and 22% vs. 13%, respectively).
• Three-quarters of Americans are willing to pay a fee for 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline funding, and support grows –and the amount people are willing to pay increases – after hearing what Americans already pay on average for 911 services.
  • 42% of Americans are willing to pay 50 cents or more for a monthly fee to fund crisis services (higher than any existing fee in the country as of July 1, 2023) before hearing that Americans, on average, pay $1.00 per month on their phone bill for 911.
  • After learning about 911 fees, 56% of Americans are willing to pay 50 cents or more.

Key Findings On Crisis Response:

• 85% of people say they want a mental health response to someone experiencing a mental health, drug or suicide crisis, not a police response.
  • This is even higher for Black (90%) and LGBTQ+ (91%) Americans and for people who have previously seen a mental health provider (91%).
• Women, Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ+ Americans are more likely to say that significant improvement is needed in emergency response for mental health and suicide crisis.
• 3 in 5 Americans say they would be afraid the police may hurt them or their loved one while responding to a mental health crisis.
  • This is higher for Black (77%), Hispanic (75%) and LGBTQ+(78%) than for White (53%) and non-LGBTQ+ (58%) Americans.
• 90% support creating 24/7 mental health, alcohol/drug, and suicide crisis call centers that can respond effectively to callers and follow-up later.
• 88% support requiring all health insurers to cover mental health crisis services.
• 84% support state funding of 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline call center operations and crisis response services.

Key Findings On LGBTQ+ Mental Health:

• 57% of Americans support allowing health care providers across the U.S. to give gender-affirming care to LGBTQ+ youth.
• 55% support a federal prohibition on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth.
• 53% support requiring teachers to use a student’s chosen name and pronouns in the classroom.
• LGBTQ+ adults are 2x as likely as non-LGBTQ+ adults to be familiar with 988.

Key Findings On Youth Mental Health:

• 83% agree that young people need more mental health resources dedicated to them and their unique needs.
• 78% say there needs to be improvement on mental health education for young people at the national level.
• 85% of U.S. adults support creating stricter regulations on social media for minors.<
• Most Americans were unaware that it takes teens an average of 8 to 10 years to receive mental health treatment.

Other Key Findings:

• 62% of U.S. adults say mental health care should be a high or the highest priority for funding in Congress.
  • Women, those under age 50, and LGBTQ+ Americans are especially likely to say that mental health care should be the highest priority for federal funding.
• 3 in 4 Americans are not content with the state of mental health treatment in the U.S.
• 7 in 10 recognize that people with mental health conditions experience discrimination in their everyday life..

Infographic:

Infographic: Poll of Public Perspectives on 988 & Crisis Response

Resources:

• Press Release: New NAMI-Ipsos Poll Finds Low Familiarity of 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline but Broad Bipartisan Support for Federal Funding
• Poll Topline Results & Methodology
• Poll Research Slide Deck
• 988: Reimagining Crisis Response
• NAMI’s Crisis Response Advocacy Action Center
• #ReimagineCrisis Campaign
• 988 Crisis Response State Legislation Map