Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Get tested if you have symptoms. Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Wear a mask on public transportation. You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others. If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and taking additional precautions.

988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be:

• Thoughts of suicide
• Mental health or substance use crisis, or
• Any other kind of emotion distress

People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a trained crisis counselor who can help.

Too many people are experiencing suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress without the support and care they need, and sadly, the pandemic only made a bad situation worse when it comes to mental health and wellness in America.

There are urgent realities driving the need for crisis service transformation across our country. Some statistics:

• In 2020 alone, the U.S. had one death by suicide about every 11 minutes
• For people aged 10 – 34 years, suicide is a leading cause of death, and
• From April 2020 to 2021, over 100,000 individuals died from drug overdoses.

Yet, there is hope. The 988 Lifeline helps thousands of struggling people overcome suicidal crisis or mental-health related distress every day.

The 988 dialing code operates through what was formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It is a network of over 200 locally operated and funded crisis centers around the country.

Congress designated 988 in 2020 and the Lifeline transitioned to the 3-digit number in July 2022. As a part of the federal government’s commitment to addressing the mental health crisis in America, unprecedented federal resources have been invested to scale up crisis centers in support of 988.

Transition to 988 is an important step forward and offers an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and transform crisis care in our country.

While this is an exciting time to reimagine how we provide crisis services in the U.S., the full vision of a transformed crisis care system with 988 at its core will not be built overnight. Transformation of this scale will take time. That success depends heavily on state and territory support, so states and the federal government must all work together.

Transformation of this scale is never easy. The sustainable success of 988 depends heavily on the willingness of state, territorial, and local leaders to make additional investments in shoring up their crisis care systems. The federal government cannot do this alone.

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.

In the longer term, the vision for 988 is to build a robust crisis care response system across the country that links callers to community-based providers who can deliver a full range of crisis care services, if needed (like mobile crisis teams or stabilization centers), in addition to connecting callers to tools and resources that will help prevent future crisis situations. This more robust system will be essential to meeting crisis care needs across the nation. We envision a day when everyone across our country has someone to call, someone to respond, and a safe place to go for crisis care.

Mandy Cranmer is a Home Health RN providing in-home care to people who have a difficult time leaving their homes safely. 

“I love the family friendly atmosphere at the Health Department," she said. "I feel like everyone who works here genuinely cares about their work and leaving the world a better place. Coming to the Health Department has truly been the best decision I have ever made for myself and my family.”

"It is a joy to see a servant's heart in action for our clients and the community," said Jason Tiller, Health Officer.

Mandy lives by Mother Teresa's words, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

"Mandy has been a positive addition to our home health team," explained Christi Ponton, Home Health Coordinator. "She has established strong, trusting relationships with her patients and like the rest of us, goes above and beyond for them. We joke about how organized and timely she is, but it truly has been a blessing. I am extremely grateful for her passion for nursing and taking care of our patients."

“This job and the people I work with have provided the support and opportunity to live out what I was called to do and for that I am humbled and grateful.” 

We are thankful for employees like Mandy who help us serve our community with love and compassion.

After an emergency, you may need to survive on your own for several days. Being prepared means having your own food, water and other supplies to last for several days. A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items your household may need in the event of an emergency.

Make sure your emergency kit is stocked with the items on the checklist below. Download a printable version to take with you to the store. Once you take a look at the basic items consider what unique needs your family might have, such as supplies for pets or seniors.

Make a plan today. Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.

Step 1: Put a plan together by discussing the questions below with your family, friends, or household to start your emergency plan.

• How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings?
• What is my shelter plan?
• What is my evacuation route?
• What is my family/household communication plan?
• Do I need to update my emergency preparedness kit?

Step 2: Consider specific needs in your household.

As you prepare your plan tailor your plans and supplies to your specific daily living needs and responsibilities. Discuss your needs and responsibilities and how people in the network can assist each other with communication, care of children, business, pets or specific needs like operating medical equipment. Create your own personal network for specific areas where you need assistance. Keep in mind some these factors when developing your plan:

• Different ages of members within your household
• Responsibilities for assisting others
• Locations frequented
• Dietary needs
• Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
• Disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment
• Languages spoken
• Cultural and religious considerations
• Pets or service animals
• Households with school-aged children

Step 3: Create a Family Emergency Plan

Make a Family Emergency Plan quickly and easily with the fillable form below.

Step 4: Practice your plan with your family/ household members!

Got kids in your household?

Ready.gov has you covered with fun games and activities like Disaster Master to test their know-how in a variety of emergency situations and the Build a Kit game to learn how to assemble their own emergency kit.

Ready.gov also offers the Ready 2 Help card game, which provides an interactive way for users to learn about different types of disasters and how best to prepare for them.