988 Hotline marks one year of helping people in crisis

ROCKVILLE, Md. — One year ago, the 988 Crisis Helpline was launched nationwide. Since then, counselors have helped thousands of callers who reach out by text, online chat, or on the phone.

"We’re here to listen, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have all the words right away," said counselor Nadia. Anonymity is important for both callers and counselors at EveryMind. "We really want to make sure they know we’re that safe space, you're not going to be judged, we’re not going to call your parents right away and tell them every detail you said, we’re not going to send someone scary, we’re just here to listen."

Calling 988 is like calling 911 for mental health. You can also text, but it’s completely anonymous and the goal is to be heard.

Nadia, a former teacher, came to the helpline because she wanted to provide direct one-on-one help to people in crisis.

"The youngest person I think I chatted with was about 10 years old and it shocked me at first, you know we’ve had a few teenagers, I didn’t realize it would go that young," she said. "But it was, it took a lot of courage for that young child to reach out, but I wanted to make them feel like it was a space where they could come again."

988 launched last July, just two years after the pandemic contributed to a mental health crisis. EveryMind began to add more counselors and resources in March 2020 as they were flooded with people in need of help.

"During the pandemic, we saw a huge spike in demand, and at that time we really started to bring on more counselors to try to meet demand, in anticipation for the rollout of 988 in July of '21," said Ann Mazur, CEO of EveryMind.

The launch of 988 has made a big difference in reaching young people especially, those who often text message. The stats show that in April 2022 prior to the launch, they received about 100 text messages reaching out for help to the national hotline, and then in April 2023 they received more than 1,000.

Whether you call, text, or online chat, counselors with 988 will ask questions about what you’re feeling and facing. They may offer deep breathing exercises. You don’t have to be in crisis to call, but if you are, they’ll help you make a safety plan.

"We often make safety plans, trying to walk through with this person what's going to happen after the call, figuring out how to cope when they’ve got overwhelming thoughts of suicide," said counselor Jackie.

"Sometimes it’s hard for us to find the words to say too because it's not always fixable what they call with, so it's really important to just meet them where they’re at, sit in the pain if that’s what they need to sit with and then we go from there," said Nadia.

You can even call 988 to discuss a friend or loved one with mental health needs.