Washington’s 988 Crisis and Suicide Lifeline marks 2nd anniversary as advocates call it pillar for mental health support

By Chrissy Booker / The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.

July marks the two-year anniversary of the launch of Washington’s 988 Crisis and Suicide Lifeline, an initiative advocates say has become a pillar for mental health support.

The launch of 988 in Washington was part of a national effort to improve the response to suicide and behavioral health crises. Since then, the three-digit number has remained an accessible resource for those seeking help. As many as 8,600 people call a month, and another 2,100 people text the lifeline. Dialing or texting 988 immediately connects a person to a network of counselors who are trained to help during a suicidal or mental health crisis. The 988 crisis line is confidential, free and available 24/7.

State Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, originally introduced House Bill 1477 to implement 988 in Washington, in partnership with Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond. Over the years, Orwall has remained an advocate for the continued expansion of 988.

Orwall said having a three-digit number separate from 911 is especially important, as law enforcement response is not always necessary for someone going through a mental health crisis.

“When 988 came along, it really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really rebuild our crisis system,” Orwall said. “But it really isn’t one bill, right? It’s a series of steps that we’re going to take to improve our crisis response system. It’s trauma informed. It’s culturally sensitive. It’s much more rapid in its response. So it truly is an alternative to a police interaction whenever possible.”

‘Someone to call’

The 988 system built on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, an existing network of more than 200 crisis centers nationwide.

The Washington State Department of Health and the Washington State Health Care Authority work together to manage 988 implementation at the three crisis centers across the state: Volunteers of America of Western Washington in Everett, Frontier Behavioral Health in Spokane and Crisis Connections in Seattle.

Since its launch, calls to 988 in Washington have increased by 40 percent, according to a letter from Gov. Jay Inslee, who has also been an advocate of the crisis line.

Additionally, the average caller waited 20 seconds to speak to somebody and counselors took an average of 13 minutes and seven seconds to listen to each caller.

“Washington’s 988 counselors are quick to pick up and slow to hang up,” Inslee

wrote. “The 988 system fills these voids, offering a lifeline to call or text, and intermediate care for mental health issues.”

In Washington, 988 provides four specialized subnetworks to support high-risk populations, the LGBTQ+ community and the Indigenous community. The crisis line also includes individual networks for veterans and Spanish speakers.

Washington’s Native and Strong Lifeline is the first of its kind in the country and is staffed by Native crisis counselors and descendants closely tied to their communities.

“We recognized really early on that we’ve got 29 federally recognized tribes in our state,” 988 Crisis System Manager Lonnie Peterson said. “We want to make sure that this information is really accessible to American Indian and Alaska Native folks in our state. We know that those populations have a higher rate of suicide.”

Looking forward

Orwall and Inslee are continuing their efforts to build follow-up resources through House Bill 1134 to fund and train mobile crisis response teams statewide. By early 2026, those teams will have a system to arrange a next-day appointment for someone in crisis, determine if they attended that visit and follow up with them accordingly.

The state Department of Health is also preparing funding for walk-in relief centers where people can receive immediate services, such as medication refills, substance use disorder treatment and medical evaluations. Orwall said she is working with other legislators to develop an additional subnetwork for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

“It does seem like one of the next steps is to raise awareness on 988, and I think that starts with community,” Orwall said. “I think people in the community have a lot more feedback for us, so I’m just going to go out and listen.”

This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.