A little over six months since the national suicide and crisis lifeline trimmed down its number to an easy-to-remember 988, calls have been pouring into the line faster than ever. In Rhode Island alone, where calls are routed to local call center BH Link, the volume of calls received jumped 40% between June and July 2022, when the new number was implemented.
It’s a flood of calls, but the state is ready to tackle this increasing demand and continue expanding its services.
“Nobody was really sure to what extent the volume of calls was going to increase,” said Joseph Ash, co-director of BH Link, a 24-hour call center in East Providence for Rhode Islanders experiencing behavioral health crises. “I’m very excited to see the line’s growth.”
BH Link was created in 2018 by then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in partnership with nonprofits Community Care Alliance and Horizon Healthcare Partners, and the R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. The center started responding to lifeline calls in 2019, becoming one of the 200 crisis centers across the U.S.
And in July 2022, when the national suicide and crisis lifeline shortened its 10-digit number to a three-digit number, 988, BH Link continued to pick up its calls. The change was brought on by a bipartisan bill introduced by several lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to expand access to mental health resources.
Between December 2021 and December 2022, the number of answered calls nationwide increased by 48%, from 142,807 to 210,880. In Rhode Island, the number of received calls skyrocketed 53% year over year in December, jumping from 313 in December 2021 to 480 in December 2022.
“A lot of people were aware that there was a hotline, but if they were in a crisis … they probably didn’t have that number handy,” said Beth Lamarre, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Rhode Island. “I think having a three-digit number is much more memorable and it makes it easy for people to access it.”
Lamarre said NAMI-RI, which offers support groups for individuals experiencing a mental health condition and their families, also experienced an uptick in demand. She thinks it comes down to an increased awareness of available resources and to the destigmatization of mental health.
The media attention and advertising brought to the lifeline, paired with the simplicity of the number – two digits away from the well-known 911 – have largely contributed to this increase in volume. Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit administrator of the 988 line, is projecting even more calls over the next year.
“Put yourselves in the shoes of someone who might barely have the energy to get out of bed in the morning,” Ash said. “Sometimes [having an easy number to call] makes the difference between reaching out or not.”
Since July, BH Link has been steadily expanding, doubling the number of call stations available and hiring counselors, clinical supervisors and administrative staff.
Sydney Muraoka is one of the new staff members that joined BH Link to meet that rising demand. With years of experience answering crisis calls and navigating crisis situations, Muraoka joined BH Link’s staff as a clinical supervisor. In this role, she supports the center’s counselors by providing training and assistance as they navigate their calls. And sometimes, she picks up the phone herself.
“Some days can be very busy,” Muraoka said. “Even though we are moving towards having more people, there are times where there are more calls coming in than counselors available.”
When that happens, calls are routed to the national call center. But it’s a rare occurrence in Rhode Island. So far, the Ocean State has repeatedly outperformed other states with the number of calls it manages to answer in state, which ranges from 95%-99%.
And as the number of calls is expected to continue to grow, so will BH Link’s staff. Over the next year, Ash said the plan is to double the size of the staff, hiring more than 10 counselors.
The 988 program in Rhode Island is funded through federal grants and money from the American Rescue Plan Act funds, said Corinna Roy, head of planning and program implementation for the R.I. Division of Behavioral Health. Many states are starting to implement surcharges to provide financial support for the line, following the model in place for 911.
So far, only five states have implemented a 988 fee but measures are in the works in other states, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
It’s not just the number that changed last year. As the previous number turned to 988, the scope of the lifeline also broadened from a line created specifically for people suffering from thoughts of suicide to one dealing with a wide range of behavioral health concerns.
It’s not a perfect system. Currently, calls are routed to call centers nationwide based on the area code of cellphone calling, meaning callers aren’t always connected to a center in the state where they’re located. It’s something that Ash and Muraoka hope to see change.
The 988 program is only the “first leg” in a three-tiered crisis vision, said Christine Ure, 988 project director in Rhode Island. The state’s focus is on continuing to meet the rising demand, while also focusing on the next steps of investing in mobile crisis teams and in stabilization facilities.
“The need is out there,” Ash said. “We have community members that are struggling and for them to know they’re three numbers away from help adds nothing but good to what our dynamics are as a community.”
