Urge Congress to fund 988 crisis line call centers, supports

Published 1:30 am Saturday, September 10, 2022

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. As a volunteer advocate with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I am calling on my members of Congress to pass legislation to prevent suicides and support crisis care.

I became an AFSP field advocate after becoming an active participate in the Out of the Darkness Walks. We need to work together to advocate, education, listen, share and destigmatize mental health, in addition to suicide. I didn’t expect to become passionate about this but I also didn’t expect to loss my middle daughter to suicide.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline must be sustainably funded so that confidential, voluntary services by trained counselors are accessible. House Resolution 7116, the 988 Implementation Act, would provide federal funding and guidance to states for 988 crisis services across the nation.

An alternative to 911 for mental health crises, 988 connects callers to Lifeline centers. These centers de-escalate 98 percent of crisis calls without dispatching emergency services. Well-resourced crisis support systems can connect callers with local resources, including someone to talk to (call centers), someone to respond (mobile crisis teams), and somewhere to go (crisis stabilization centers). We must ensure that every state has the capacity to provide comprehensive crisis response services to help save lives.

For more information, go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at afsp.org/988.

Join me in urging Congress to take action to #StopSuicide!

Dawn Krivanek

Mukilteo