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A bill establishing 988 as the national three-digit mental health care and suicide prevention hotline is set to be signed into law, paving the way for the hotline to become fully operational by July 2022.

Gardner

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Gardner

The bill, officially named the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, was introduced by Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and three other senators. It was later cosponsored by a bipartisan coalition including Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. The creation of a three-digit hotline is intended to make it easier for people seeking immediate mental health care to get in touch with mental health resources. The bill passed through the House and the Senate and awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.

The number was chosen to be easy to remember and accessible nationwide, similar to the general emergency hotline, 911. Until the 988 hotline is fully established, the current 10-digit mental health crisis hotline, 1 (800) 273-8255, will remain active.

“I think ... simple is generally better,” said Haley Leonard Saunders, a representative of Axis Health System, which operates a 24/7 mental health and crisis care hotline in Southwest Colorado. “I think if one person who wasn’t going to use another line chooses to use the 988 line when it is available, I think that’s a success.”

Axis’ hotline is one of several mental health care lines in use across the country. Saunders said Axis’ and other hotlines are intended to support anyone experiencing a mental health issue. A common misconception is that hotlines are intended only for people experiencing suicidal thoughts, but Saunders said such hotlines can provide assistance to people experiencing a wide variety of situations.

“It should be just the same as taking care of your physical health,” she said.

Although Axis is not directly connected with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is affected by the bill, mental health care service providers across the country have praised the bill’s passage. Once the new hotline is active, they say, it will help make such care more accessible.

The bill passed the Senate in May and the House of Representatives in September after letters of support from sponsors in the Senate and various mental health groups. Before the bill’s introduction, the Federal Communications Commission released a report recommending the establishment of a three-digit hotline. The agency later voted unanimously to establish 988 as the hotline.

Although the FCC is the agency that regulates communications, the bill Congress passed was necessary because it gives states the authority to impose surcharges to fund the hotline. That is also how 911 is funded. Now that the measure has been approved by both Congress and the FCC, after the president signs the bill, telephone service providers will be required to have the 988 hotline accessible by July 16, 2022.

The bill also will connect the Veterans Crisis Line, which currently uses the same 10-digit number as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, to the new hotline. In addition, it seeks to support mental health services for LGBTQ youth and other at-risk groups.

Suicide is one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rural areas tend to see higher rates of suicide than urban areas. Legislators and mental health care professionals hope the new hotline, when fully established, will increase accessibility and awareness of mental health care resources nationwide.

“The tragic fact is we lose a Coloradan to death by suicide every seven hours, and we must keep fighting to provide mental health support to Coloradans in need, particularly in this time of crisis,” Gardner said in a news release after the bill was approved by the House.

Throughout the country, mental health hotlines have seen an increase in use since the general onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Axis reported a 30% increase in use compared with last year beginning in March, around the time the pandemic began affecting life in Colorado. Mental health professionals say they are not surprised by the trend.

“Right now, people are experiencing grief and loss of a lifestyle,” Saunders said.

The pandemic has brought widespread change and stress to the lives of people across the world, regardless of whether they personally know someone who has died from the novel coronavirus. Many are therefore turning to mental health care hotlines to seek advice and support.

The 988 hotline will not be fully established for about 18 months because of the logistics involved in creating a new nationwide hotline.

John Purcell is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C.