The new national 3-digit hotline for mental health emergencies is set to launch this month on July 16, with Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services leading the launch in California. 

The number is 988, and works like the national emergency number of 911, except it is specifically for mental health emergencies. 

The law creating the new line passed on Oct. 17, 2020 and converts the National Suicide Prevention lifelines from 10 digits to three. Advocates see it as a front door for people in all kinds of mental health crises.

“It is very exciting news and something we’ve been needing for a long time,” said Barbara Wilson from Santa Clarita’s Mental Health Hookup. “We hope it will help not only the families and the loved ones but also the law enforcement.”  

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is working with various instructions to implement some version of the 988 system nationally, as states are required to have it up and running by July 16, but the actual shape it takes is up to each state. 

In California, Didi Hirsch – the first-ever suicide prevention organization – is partnering to implement and lead the system with 13 total crisis centers in the state, which together field over 270,000 calls a year. According to the organization, that number of calls is expected to go up once 988 goes live. 

For California, the state Department of Health Care Services announced in September it would spend $20 million to help launch the 988 system. AB 988 is legislation that would tack-on up to 80 cents a month on phone lines in the state — both wireless and landline services — to provide ongoing funding for the system and associated services. 

Upon calling 988, callers can expect to encounter crisis counselors who staff the National Suicide prevention lifeline, which is staffed locally by counselors and from that 180 call centers in the country.

If the person is in need of more assistance than can be provided through the phone, the call center would dispatch a first responder to the caller’s location. Who actually responds to these emergencies should depend on the cities themselves. 

“This would be another tool we can have in our arsenal,” said Wilson. “I would expect there would be bumps but it wouldn’t be a failure, it would be part of the process.” 

According to advocates, the new hotline is critical for protecting those experiencing a mental health crisis, as it can be dangerous to contact 911 and be greeted by untrained first responders, especially if they are hallucinating, hurting themselves or on the verge of overdosing.

“It is a nationwide problem since the 1980s that asks are we going to treat a certain group of people like disposable people because they have mental illness?” said Wilson. 

1.4 million adults attempt suicide each year. Between 2009 and 2021, the share of American high school students who said they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” jumped from 26% to a record 44%, per a new CDC study. For adolescents ages 10 to 19, emergency room visits for self-harm jumped 88% from 2001 to 2019.

Advocates see the new line as a step forward. Here in Santa Clarita, Wilson envisions a good next step to be housing for adults with serious mental illness, as nothing of the kind exists in the City as of now. “Here locally, that’s a step we can take,” said Wilson. 

Anyone seeking information about mental health resources available in the Santa Clarita Valley can look here for a list of resources. There are 24-hour phone numbers available. In the event of an emergency, 911 should always be the first call. Those looking to speak with someone can call:

• 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (soon to change)

• 1-800-854-7771 for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

• 1-800-784-2433 for the Treatment Advocacy Center

• 661-259-9439 for the SCV Child & Family Center

• 661-288-4800 for the Santa Clarita Valley Mental Health Center

• 661- 765-8445 for Insight Treatment Santa Clarita

• 800-852-8336 for the Teen Line Peer Suicide Prevention 6-10 p.m.  or text TEEN to 839863

1-866-488-7386 for the Trevor Project LGBTQ suicide helpline

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