CBHA General Alert
July 15th, 2022
988 Goes Live TOMORROW!
Dear Colleagues,

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 16th, anyone in the U.S. will be able to text or call 988 to reach trained counselors who can help them cope with a mental health emergency and direct them to resources for mental health and substance use treatment.

CBHA is proud of our advocacy on behalf of our members and crisis call centers across the state and applauds the Newsom Administration and the state of California for leading the way in supporting 988 and reimagining crisis response.

Last year, CBHA, the Steinburg Institute, and Kennedy Forum worked with CBHA members and crisis call centers Didi Hirsch, WellSpace Health, Kings View, and Felton Institute to create a proposal to garner immediate funding. That proposal received a $20 million augmentation by the state for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline call centers.

Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature announced they had come to an agreement on the 2022-23 State Budget, including a budget proposal for $8 million for 988 (Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, AD 16) sponsored by CBHA, Steinburg Institute, Kennedy Forum, and other partners.

"988 highlights California's commitment to innovative solutions to combat a growing behavioral health crisis. 988 is a critical step to eliminating inequities and strengthening our care continuum. We look forward to working with the Administration to continue broadening the reach of 988 and supporting compassionate crisis response," said Le Ondra Clark Harvey, Ph.D., CEO of CBHA.

CBHA and our partners have been working hard to get the word out about this life-saving resource. In the last few weeks, CBHA has been featured in numerous pieces highlighting 988 including AirTalk (at 37:35), an NPR affiliate station in Los Angeles and yesterday on ABC7 News in the Bay Area.

Ahead of the implementation tomorrow, we want to share resources compiled by our national affiliate, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, for your reference.

What is 988?

More information:

  • Implementing 988 and Future Priorities – a resource created by National Council, in collaboration with NASHMPD, NACo, and Vibrant Emotional Health. This factsheet includes an overview of 988, a side-by-side comparison of 911 and 988 current capabilities, and next steps on how to expand access to crisis care.
  • SAMHSA’s 988 webpage, including information on understanding the background, history, funding opportunities, and implementation resources for strengthening suicide prevention and mental health crisis services.
  • Provider Playbook, including guidance around preparing for the 988 transition and best practices and examples seen in the field today.
  • Messaging Framework
  • Social Media Shareables
  • State legislation tracker, including information on potential state-based 988 funding.

What does the transition to 988 mean?

  • Saturday is just the beginning. It is an important step forward and offers an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and transform crisis care in our country. There is still much work to be done at the federal, state and local levels to expand access to crisis care and expand capacity of the Lifeline and of care providers.
  • We anticipate that 988 will continue to grow and evolve over the years, much the way 911 and emergency medical services have grown over the past five decades. We do expect a more rapid 988 transition to occur to meet the expected demand for 24/7 access to trained counselors who can help people experiencing suicidal, substance use and other mental health crises.

What happens when you call/text/chat the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline?

  • Call: When you call 988, you will first hear a greeting message with the chance to press 1 for the VCL, 2 for Spanish, or stay on the line while your call is routed to your local Lifeline network crisis center. Then a trained crisis counselor will answer the phone, provide support, and share resources if needed.
  • Text: When you text 988 you will complete a short survey letting the crisis counselor know a little about your situation. You will be connected with a trained crisis counselor in one of our crisis centers who will answer the text, provide support, and share resources if needed.
  • Chat: Visit 988lifeline.org and find the chat button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. You will complete a short survey letting the crisis counselor know a little bit about your current situation. Then you’ll see a wait-time message while you are connected with a trained crisis counselor who will answer the chat, provide support, and share resources if needed.

The work is far from done, but the implementation of 988 is a monumental step in caring for all who have suffered trauma, thoughts of suicide, and mental illness, including youth, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ communities.

In Service,

CBHA Staff
We appreciate UST, long-time Affinity Member, for their partnerships that both provide our members exceptional services and sponsor our advocacy efforts.
We appreciate our Business Associates for their partnerships that both provide our members exceptional services and sponsor our advocacy efforts.