LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The National Suicide Lifeline launched a new and easy-to-remember phone number for people who may be experiencing a mental health crisis— just dial 988.
Those three digits could help save a life.
Having access to instant help in the middle of a mental health crisis can make all the difference in the world.
"This is going to be a game changer for mental health, substance abuse, and suicidal people," said Dr. Buster Lackey, executive director for the National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI) in Arkansas.
According to Lackey, one in five people suffer from some type of mental health illness.
Jacob Smith, who oversees substance misuse and injury prevention at the Arkansas Department of Health, said the previous suicide lifeline was too time-consuming for some people.
Due to this, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved 988 as the new number back in 2020.
"This is just a little bit easier way of remembering the number," Smith said.
The state of Arkansas has three emergency call centers, including the Arkansas Lifeline Call Center, Arkansas Crisis Center, and Western Arkansas Counseling & Guidance Center.
There are some concerns that a potential increase in callers could overwhelm call takers.
"From May 2021 through June 2022, there were 14,000 callers," Smith said.
He added that call takers were only able to answer a little more than 10,000 of those calls.
"We think that we'll see a slight uptick in numbers of callers that call into our call center," Smith said.
However, the Arkansas Department of Health told us they have a plan if they become overwhelmed.
Each call taker must go through over 90 hours of training before they are able to answer calls.
To ensure they are not experiencing burnout, calls will be monitored and regular check-ins will occur.
The ADH also stated they have trained additional staff within the department to assist with calls in the event of an influx of calls.
"For people to access that, you know, string to hang on to until they can get the help they need is a great stride for our country," Dr. Howard Turney said.
Dr. Turney is a family/marriage therapist and a social work professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
He said this latest advancement shows that people are no longer putting mental health on the backburner.
"It also raises awareness that this is a problem in our society that touches many more lives than maybe some realize," Dr. Turney said.
988 will hopefully ease the challenge of talking with someone who could potentially help save a life.