The New York Times (7/16, Weiland ) reports, “More than 10 million calls, texts and chat messages have been answered by counselors working for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s three-digit hotline in the two years since it debuted, federal officials said on Tuesday.” Almost “two million of the 10 million interactions were text messages, while 1.2 million were calls answered by the Veterans Crisis Line, an option that allows service members and veterans to press 1 on a phone’s dial pad to reach help.” So far, “the Biden administration has funneled almost $1.5 billion into 988, federal officials said on Tuesday, and more than $200 million in grants will be given to states in the 2024 fiscal year to support the work.”
CNN (7/16, Davis) reports that “this year, text messages to 988 have increased 51% and calls 34% from the year before, a sign of the effects of expanded services, according to senior administration officials.”
The Hill (7/16, O’Connell-Domenech ) reports the hotline “has also answered roughly 20,000 chats and texts in Spanish, 20,000 video calls in American Sign Language and more than 475,000 calls, texts and chats from LGBTQ Americans since last year, according to” HHS.
Related Links:
— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)