Calls to Missouri’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline increased during second year of operation

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Calls to Missouri's 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline have increased significantly from its first year to its second year, according to data provided by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Missouri's 988 line was launched on July 16, 2022. It is a mental health hotline available 24/7 that connects people with free and confidential mental health support with a trained crisis professional in the state.

Data shows there was an average of 3,887 calls per month to 988 in its first year from July 2022 to June 2023.

The average then jumped to 5,627 calls per month in the hotline's second year from July 2023 to June, increasing by almost 2,000 calls per month.

The crisis line has had more than 6,000 calls per month over the last four months, from March to June.

May had the most calls to the crisis line, with 6,772 calls in that month alone.

This is up from May 2023 which had 4,637 calls. The month of May saw the largest amount of calls to the line during both years.

Data also shows the average call answer rate and the average time until a call is answered.

In its second year, the hotline had an average answer rate of 93.5%. The average time until someone answered the calls was just under 15 seconds.

This is improved from the first year of 988, which had an average answer rate of 91% and an average answer time of just under 24 seconds.

If anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, they can get in contact with a trained crisis professional by calling or texting 988, chatting with 988 or using a videophone.

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