Mental health advocates in New York support the creation of the 988 crisis helpline, but they want to ensure resources and funding will be available for it in the long term.
The Association’s Executive Director for Community Life Sabrina Barrett said the new 988 channel for people in mental health crises will be an important tool to help people in need. But she worries New York isn’t doing enough to achieve its goal of supporting mental health care for a variety of needs – from housing to crisis intervention.
“When you’ve been underfunded for decades — it’s not just flipping the switch and catching up,” he says.
New York spends millions of dollars to support 988, funding that goes into creating a crisis stabilization center to help people with mental health needs. This is part of a changing approach to mental health programs.
The state budget approved $35 million to expand 988 call center capacity. Funding will increase next year to $60 million annually, while the Office of Mental Health has allocated $10 million in one-time funding for the Community Menalth Health Service block grant.
There are also 13 988 dedicated crisis contact centers and two additional centers serving the Capital Territory and Northern States under development.
In the first weekend, the state saw a 50% increase in call volume to 988 compared to the suicide prevention call line from the previous weekend. The state has also increased the in-state response rate from 77% to 82% in the first weekend.
“The New York State Office of Mental Health is committed to addressing suicide prevention amid a global pandemic that comes with great loss, hardship, and social isolation,” the Office of Mental Health said in a statement. 988 Lifeline is an important step as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen New York’s crisis response system and reduce suicide attempts, and we look forward to continuing to work with partners and advocates at all levels to provide New Yorkers experiencing crisis mental health with quality, accessible services and assistance.”
But Barrett pointed to rising costs of inflation impacting services that now exceed spending increases that have been approved by New York lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“We will look to the states for more resources so we can stabilize the system and then grow to meet future needs,” he said.
Glenn Liebman, CEO of the New York State Mental Health Association, called services like 988, as well as crisis centers, a step in the right direction.
“That’s a positive trend, but I think it’s definitely going to come down to services too and have a long-term impact on people,” Liebman said.
But whether these major changes in mental health programs can work remains to be seen.
“It’s still growing,” he said. “We have to wait and see and hopefully it will be something positive and give positive results for people who are in crisis.”
