It’s been over two years since the United States Congress passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, allowing states to implement a monthly telecom service fee for 988 crisis system costs. Yet, only five states have enacted one, said Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer of the National Alliance
People in acute suicidal distress who reach out to the newly launched 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (“988 Lifeline”) can often opt for a 988 crisis counselor to follow up with them within 24 to 72 hours after their initial outreach. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential
Workforce shortages in mental health and substance use disorder services and supports aren’t new, says Jessica Wolf, Ph.D., principal of Decision Solutions Consulting and assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. She’s been working on behavioral health workforce challenges in Connecticut since the ‘70s. “We
A push for behavioral health parity, where insurance companies provide equal treatment for mental health and substance use services as physical ones, isn’t new. However, inequality between the two has increasingly garnered attention from federal and state leaders. Awareness that Arlene Stephenson, senior advisor at the National Association of State
Some people can take the worst of a situation and create what they need to help themselves get through it. Among them is Hayley Winterberg. She was 12 and living in Maricopa County, Arizona, when she experienced a suicidal crisis. After the hospital discharged her, Hayley found few mental health
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