On July 16, the National Suicide Hotline’s three-digit number, 988, will be active nationally. This number will route callers to the national suicide prevention line, which is expanded to take any kind of mental health crisis (mental health challenges, suicide, emotional distress, substance abuse, etc.)
Citizens in Johnston County will be able to call, text or use a chat feature for 988 to be directed to trained crisis counselors.
Research from The National Suicide Prevention Line has shown call takers are able to de-escalate 80% to 90% of callers.
Full scale national marketing of 988 will not begin until 2023, to allow a few months to work out the system, mobilize and create new mobile crisis teams in areas that do not have them, and to allow mental health resources to collaborate with the lifeline.
REAL Crisis Center in Greenville, NC is the crisis center through the suicide prevention lifeline network that will be answering the majority of the “988” calls in North Carolina. If the demand on services is extremely high, there are alternate crisis centers that are trained to take calls as well.
If you or a loved one find yourself in a crisis and need immediate assistance, please call 911. The “988” National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will be able to provide you with additional assistance July 16, 2022.
It would be better if this connected to local help instead of a large agency halfway across the state. You know, like 911 does.
REAL Crisis Center in Greenville NC will be fielding most of the calls from Johnston County according to this article.