States need more resources to meet expected demand for crisis hotline reboot: report
Fox News
Approximately 17% of current Lifeline calls last year were abandoned before a caller could get help, while 41% of texts and 73% of online chats were left unanswered.
"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is awarding nearly $105 million in grant funding, provided by the American Rescue Plan, to 54 states and territories in advance of the transition of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline from the current 10-digit number to the 988 three-digit dialing code in July," per the United States Department of Health and Human Services press release.
Federal money will assist 988 operators to not only counsel callers, but also eventually dispatch responders who will hopefully reduce the demand placed currently both on armed law enforcement and emergency rooms when someone is in a mental health crisis, according to the Times.