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.

Crisis Services Coordinator Casey Muckler said the the increase is likely due to the state's heavy promotion of the hotline.

"We expect the volume to continue growing as more and more people learn what 988 is and get a little bit more comfortable with feeling comfortable reaching out when they need help," Muckler said.

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.

Despite the increase in calls, Missouri has improved its average answer rate and time to answer.

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.

The crisis line has seven centers across the state including six call centers and one text and chat center. Muckler said staffing the crisis line has not been a concern.

"We are seeing that workforce isn't quite the issue that other areas of behavioral health are experiencing, mainly because a lot of the 988 crisis specialists that we have staffed at our centers, a lot of them are able to work from home, or they are able to work different shift opportunities that may lend themselves to people being able to work different hours of the day," Muckler said.

Nationally, May data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows Missouri comes in at 15th for most calls received in a month.

SAMHSA data also shows Missouri was tied for the fourth-highest answer rate in May at 94%.

Going into its third year, Muckler said there are still improvements being worked on for 988. She said the department is working on getting calls to the nearest call center instead of basing the call on the phone number's area code.

If anyone is 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 video phone.

"Our goal is really to support people in their communities and really prevent the need for higher level of care and reduce the overuse of public health and safety resources," Muckler said. "Keep people safe where they're at with the least intervention possible."