• spizzat2@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Meanwhile, this article told (reminded?) me that we have a mental health hotline service.

    These missed calls are happening at a time when most Americans still aren’t aware the 988 national suicide prevention and mental health hotline exists — and even as we hit the service’s one-year mark, few states have established long-term funding commitments to sustain it

    Plans to use some of the nearly $1 billion in federal funding for a nationwide public service campaign haven’t materialized, partly due to early concerns that marketing 988 could overwhelm the lifeline past capacity.

    Well, good thing they aren’t marketing it. We wouldn’t want 1/4 of the calls to go unanswered or anything…

    “It’s taken 15 years for 911 to evolve to the kind of system that it is today. We’re just one year in.”

    I mean, a 15 minute wait in a mental health crisis still doesn’t sound like an ideal goal, but I guess it’s better than being completely ignored.