It’s a nationwide number to call for those in crisis, and a local organization that answers the call says it’s seeing a high volume of calls, more than the original suicide lifeline number. MORE ⬇️
The federal government launched 988 in July of 2022. Solari, a Tempe organization, is one of two crisis call centers in Arizona answering those calls, the other is in Tucson.
That’s on par with what they estimated. The number was launched in an effort to make it easier for people to access help when they’re in need.When someone does call, he says those on the other end of the line make sure the person in crisis is in a safe situation. Then they work to figure out how to help that person. In some instances, they will call a crisis team to go and help the person or help them find other resources in the community.
“It’s amazing and a little bit shocking to see where we were a few years ago compared to now. The reach that we have, not only to Arizona but nationwide has really been humbling to see. It’s great to know that we have that sort of impact on our community,” Lee said. “We’re still seeing calls are the number one way people are accessing our services, but text is growing rapidly,” Chase said. “We’ve seen a 1,400% increase in texting volume nationwide when it comes to accessing 988. It tends to be individuals, our youth, the young adult population preferring to interact by text resources.”