The U.S. suicide hotline will roll out a new shortcut on July 16, allowing people in distress to simply dial 988 to reach an operator.
Since the number was approved by Congress in 2020, many states have struggled to implement a plan to meet the deadline to have it fully operational, and an extension, giving some states until July 24, has been adopted.
The Federal Communications Commission last summer voted to require phone companies to support the 988 number as a way to reach an existing suicide prevention hotline. that say “calls to 988 will be directed to 1-800-273-TALK, which will remain operational during and after the 988 transition.”Retired California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Briggs looks out at the Golden Gate Bridge, where he responded to many suicide attempts during his career.
“Our [988] plan is going to be active. Is it going to be fully staffed? Are we going to have two call centers? I’m not sure, and that’s the scary part,” Kelly Troyer, a mental health advocate for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Charleston, told Yahoo News. While Wyoming’s Republican Gov. Mark Gordon has asked his state's Legislature to include funding for the shortcut in its upcoming budget, California is setting aside $20 million to support call centers for the launch of 988, Reuters reported.
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