Thousands of Texans in need are abandoning the state’s suicide hotline mid-call every month as call centers struggle under a $7 million funding deficit and a growing suicide rate statewide, Texas Tribune reports. The 988 number — a federally mandated, state-run service that connects callers to crisis counselors — fills an essential niche in the behavioral health care system because it provides catered mental health services in an emergency where 911 might not be appropriate. The hotline has been used thousands of times in two years, but its federal funding is declining, and with a workforce shortage, the system is starting to bend under the demand. “To be very clear, we’re doing way more work than we’ve ever been able to do,” said Jennifer Battle, supervisor of the 988 system at the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD. “If you want us actually to meet the volume of Texas, then somebody’s got to decide to increase the resources that are made available to centers so that we can increase the number of people we serve.” Since launching in 2022, Texas’ five centers that answer calls to the 988 suicide hotline have received more than 380,000 calls, the second highest volume in the nation, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness Texas. One-third of them occurred from January to June last year.
Fewer than 85% of calls in Texas are answered in-state, with 200 other centers across the nation serving as backup. Although much improved from the 40% in-state answer rate in 2021, the year before the state’s crisis hotline was integrated into the federally-mandated hotline, Texas’ latest rate falls short of the 90% standard set by national 988 administrator Vibrant Emotional Health. The more a caller is transferred in and out of state, the more likely he or she will hang up before reaching a crisis counselor. Between January and August, 18,500 calls to Texas’ 988 system were abandoned. In August, more than 12% — or 2,446 — of received 988 calls were abandoned, tying Texas with Tennessee for the fifth highest rate in the nation. Across the five Texas call centers, 166 staff members are responsible for responding to 988 calls, texts and chats through the 988 website. In May, this equated to an average of 95 calls per person with most calls lasting about 15 minutes. To implement the text and chat component into the state’s 988 system fully, it would need at least to double the number of crisis counselors. It also needs an additional $7 million. The projected cost in 2023 to operate the state’s five call centers was $21 million, but the state allocated only $14 million in fiscal year 2024.
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