Opinion: Not going all in on the 988 hotline will ensure its failure

The problem with the 988 hotline isn't the new number. The technology should work. The big questions are: Who will be answering the calls? And will the system have the…

Time is not on our side. With fewer than 100 days until the scheduled rollout of 988, the new nationwide mental health and suicide prevention crisis hotline is unfortunately far from being ready.

Implementing the program — think of it as 911 for mental health crises — which was signed into law by President Trump in October 2020, has been hampered by a lack of sustainable federal funding to build the capacity to respond effectively to 988 calls, which is consistent with how little the U.S. has prioritized investing in the nation’s mental health.

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