988 is the Texas Suicide Hotline number. Available 24/7, this number is a widely known resource for those facing an immediate mental health crisis.
“The suicide hotline call center is a place where somebody can have help and support,” personal counselor Christen Armer said. “It’s an immediate contact with somebody who is in an immediate need or in an immediate crisis.”
Despite the widespread notion of the 988 number as a first point of contact for those in need, the hotline struggles to meet the massive calls for help. Texas only has five call centers, and with a recent $7 million slash in funding, these call centers may become unable to meet the staggering demand unless they can find funding from other places, such as taxes and grants.
“SAMHSA [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration] grant funding is projected to decline. And as this federal funding winds down, it becomes imperative that we establish long term, sustainable state funding to help kind of create parity with the successful model of 911, emergency services,” NAMI Texas Peer Policy Fellow Christine Busse said. “988 Trust Fund is to ensure parity between mental health and traditional emergency services [911].”
To fund 911 calls, a small fee is added to the phone bills. The 988 Trust Fund hopes to mimic this structure to help finance its current deficits. The fee, if instated, would be determined by the Human and Health Services Commission (HHSC).
Without a change, this lack of funds and grants will negatively impact the supply of the resources that call centers need. Callers would likely be moved from a neighborhood Texas help center to a help center out of state if a Texas call center is unavailable to assist them.
“It can impact the likelihood of them receiving or having someone that picks up the phone in their state. So if a Texan called, and maybe we’re over capacity, they might end up speaking with someone outside of the state who might be less familiar with appropriate resources to refer them to,” Busse said, “That said, our crisis counselors are very dedicated to doing the best that they can.”
An out of state call is put through a multitude of channels, with constant changes in people and call lines. This takes minutes or even hours that callers potentially don’t have. Those in crisis will abandon the call before it reaches the out of state number, which can have devastating repercussions for those in a life-or-death situation.
“Just like anybody does when we make a phone call to AT&T, you’re put through so many different avenues that sometimes you’re just like, never mind, I’m gonna do this later,” Armer said, “In this situation, there may not be a later. The minutes count, the seconds count, the building and relationship counts, the connection counts. Because often that’s all that person needs is an immediate connection.”
Easy access to the 988 number creates a safety net for people needing help, and is a vital resource for mental health professionals administering it.
“You need to be able to give them some tools and resources that we give when they’re walking out of our office,” Counselor Michelle Altom said, “I feel like it gives us some hope that, okay, no matter what, we know that you can call 988.”
As part of the help posters posted around the school, there are direct links to the counselors office as well as the 988 call center line. These posters have assisted students ranging from remembering a counselor’s name to potentially saving a student’s life by providing the 988 number in moments of distress.
“[Call centers] can help bridge that gap between not receiving care and getting to the point where they’re getting the care that they need, regardless of what level of care they might require,” Busse said, “If there is a situation that does reach a point where they think that it might need to be escalated, then they’ll go ahead and have potentially a mobile crisis team come out to help work with that individual.”
Texas call centers are in dire need to receive funds and more resources. To help out, the call center requires more money to be donated as well as volunteers, and extensive changes in government state policies are needed. The increase in funding will allow for the workers to be compensated, for the resources to expand to reach more people, and to train more volunteers.
“We currently have 166 crisis counselors, and what we’re trying to do across the nation is built in that text and chat capacity, and that takes two to three times as much as it would be for a phone conversation, and so quite a big burden for all of these crisis counselors to carry, in addition to the everyday impact of talking to someone in vulnerable moments all day long,” Busse said.
Suicide is a prevailing issue that needs to be addressed. It is present in all communities and poses a real threat to people’s lives if not addressed.
“The risk is real,” Armer said, “No matter what level, the risk is real.”
