Last month, the new 988 lifeline answered 152,000 more calls, chats & texts than in the same month last year (August 2021), according to HHS, & the average speed to answer across all contacts dropped from 2½ minutes to 42 seconds.
There were (& still are) a lot of naysayers when it comes to this 988 number – “they aren’t ready for the volume”…”the phone tree isn’t organized enough yet”…”we don’t have enough trained personnel,” etc.
Some (even all of that), may be true. But if you boil down what’s most important – NORMALIZATION is.
**We don’t even have a chance to help people if they don’t feel comfortable asking for help in the first place!
988, like 911, is easy to remember – & off of the heels of how everyone knows that 911 is for emergency & we learn this as little kids, 988 confirms to ALL, that MH emergency is not so uncommon, & it’s OK to reach out for help & gets a convo going. Amidst the naysayer, let’s root this group on & help w resources & shares so they keep getting better & better & save more lives.
Sorry I’ve been MIA the past few days – we have been at 2 schools in South Carolina: @riversidewarriors & @mav_land_athletics – for whole school presentations. You can see some of the work on the next slides➡️.
Thanks to @amandameyerinspire for kicking us off – at Riverside she openly shared about her son, who went to that school just a few yrs ago, & died by suicide. Like all moms who share after a tragedy I’m in awe of her strength.
With the two schools we did the culture presentation, the LIFE Saver – first person suicide prevention tool, the SameHere Scale, & overall just formed a lot of positive relationship & encouraged normalization & help seeking. Thx to @boombostick86 & @coachyearg for sharing their stories w the students via zoom. Stories save lives.
Check the slides for a number of highlights ➡️…more to come from the road with schools next week.
