Funding will Augment $95 Million in State Budget Over Next Two Years to Implement 988 Crisis Hotline
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York State has been awarded $7.2 million by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to help strengthen crisis call center services in preparation for the transition on July 16, 2022, of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to the number 988 from the current 1-800-273-8255.
“The transition to 988 gives New York State a unique opportunity to strengthen its behavioral health crisis response system and increase its capacity to meet the needs of New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “Too often, people experiencing a mental health crisis or considering suicide feel as though they have no one to turn to, but the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides hope and help. Introducing this easy-to-remember, three-digit number will be a critical too in helping more people access services and support as we continue to tackle behavioral health crises.”
New York State’s award is part of nearly $105 million in grant funding provided nationally by the American Rescue Plan to 54 states and territories. New York State will use the funds to improve response rates, ensuring calls that originate in the state are first routed to regional crisis contact centers. They may also use the funds to build the workforce necessary for enhancing local text and chat response.
OMH has also allocated one-time funding of $10 million in supplemental Community Mental Health Services Block Grant resources to provide start-up for the call centers in the current year to build up statewide capacity and infrastructure by hiring and training staff, fortifying the network of backup centers, broadening the availability of chat/text services, and ensuring proper connections to community services.
The U.S. Congress in 2020 designated the new 988 dialing code to provide easier access to crisis services. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States had one death by suicide every 11 minutes in 2020. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 14 and 25 to 34. SAMHSA’s 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data shows 4.9 percent of adults 18 or older had serious thoughts of suicide, 1.3 percent made a suicide plan, and 0.5 percent attempted suicide in the past year. Among adolescents 12 to 17, 12 percent had serious thoughts of suicide, 5.3 percent made a suicide plan, and 2.5 percent attempted suicide in the past year. The findings vary by race and ethnicity, with people of mixed ethnicity reporting higher rates of serious thoughts of suicide.
