Roll out of new 3-digit number for national suicide lifeline estimated to take up to a year

ST. GEORGE — While a congressional bill sponsored by Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart designating a three-digit number for the national suicide hotline was signed into law by President Donald Trump in October, it is estimated that it may take up to a year for it to go into effect nationwide.

Utah Republican Congressman Chris Stewart addresses gathered law enforcement leaders from across southwest Utah  during a breakfast meeting hosted at Dixie State University, St. George, Utah, Aug. 26, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

As opposed to the current 10-digit hotline, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act designates 9-8-8 as a new, easy-to-remember number to call in a moment of crisis.

“Being able to quickly dial 9-8-8 in a mental health crisis will give Americans a much-needed resource to help reverse the tragic trend of suicide,” Stewart said in an October press release. “I am grateful to President Trump for prioritizing mental health and signing this bill into law in a timely manner. This is a great day for Utah and a great day for our country.”

The crusade to create a national three-digit replacement for the hotline began four years ago and was pushed by Stewart and then-Sen. Orrin Hatch. However, according to Stewart’s office, the idea originated in 2012 with Utah state Rep. Steve Eliason and Sen. Daniel Thatcher, who “recognized the need to simplify the number.”

The current 1-800-273-TALK hotline connects those in crisis to a national network of 163 crisis centers and is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Calls to the hotline are routed from anywhere in the United States to the closest certified crisis center. In 2018, trained hotline counselors answered over 2.2 million calls and over 100,000 online chats.

As the push for a simplified number made its way through Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, it gained bipartisan support. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, co-sponsored the House version of the bill while Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin; Jerry Moran, R-Kansas; and Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, sponsored a companion bill in the Senate.

Quilt made in remembrance of loved ones lost to suicide is displayed during “Out of the Darkness Walk” sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Washington, Utah, Sept. 29, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

“This is a win for every American who has been affected by a mental illness,” Moulton said in a press release. “It is a national step forward out of the shadows of stigma that prevent too many people from getting help and into a new era when mental health care is easy to get and normal to talk about. I’m so proud of my team and the partners that got this done. This will save tens of thousands of lives every year.”

While a simplified number for the National Suicide Hotline is created under Stewart’s bill, it also creates more localized call centers that individuals in crisis will be connected to so they can receive aid closer to home.

This is where existing infrastructure, or rather lack thereof, comes into play, Stewart told St. George News during a stop in Southern Utah in late October.

“Now we have to build the infrastructure so that every state – and it is a state responsibility now – so that when someone dials 9-8-8, that they actually talk to someone,” Stewart said. “The reality is, some states have to build up their infrastructure so when those calls come through they make sure they have people trained who can answer those calls.”

As states will need time to set up those localized call centers and train the personnel involved, Stewart estimated the new 9-8-8 number won’t go into effect until the fall of 2021.

Providing more local access will better enable those on the receiving end of the call to send in an intervention team in severe cases, Stewart said. That could take the form of responding mental health experts, police officers, EMTs or a mix of those depending on the situation, he said.

Stock image | Photo by Sergey Zelenskij from Pixabay, St. George News

“In order to do that, you want that local access.”

Utah is already leading the nation in this regard, Stewart said, adding that other states often divert their crisis calls to Utah because they do not have the proper infrastructure in place to handle the issue.

That isn’t an ideal situation, though, as someone in Colorado calling the lifeline should be able to talk to someone in that state rather than a state away. Because of that, Stewart said, each state needs time to build up the needed resources.

“The bottom line is this is going to save thousands of lives,” he said. “It’s such a good thing. These are some of the most vulnerable people in our nation, and this is going to help them.”

Stewart added that 90% of the individuals who attempt suicide and get help end up feeling satisfied and optimistic about the future six months later.

“If people can get help, we can make a difference in how they feel, but you’ve got to be able to stop them from that one moment of crisis from making a real tragic mistake,” Stewart said.

Resources

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!