Experts hope new 988 suicide prevention number will help problems with lifeline system in Illinois
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Starting this weekend, mental health help will be just three numbers away.
Saturday marks the transition to 988 – the easy-to-remember number to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported Thursday, Illinois has been lagging far behind when it comes to answering in-state calls.
Right now, the vast majority of calls that come into the hotline are redirected out of Illinois — sometimes wasting precious seconds even minutes for callers in distress. This transition to the 988 number is going to help fix that.
Steve Moore lost his 19-year-old son, Paul, to suicide in 2006. Ever since, Moore has been fighting to improve resources here in Illinois.
Moore, the board of directors at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, says our in-state call taker answering rates are the worst in the country — at just 19 percent.
In the first quarter of 2022, about a quarter of callers dropped off before anyone answered.
Moore: "I'm sure that Illinois hold times have also be among the worst in the country, because of the fact that so many of its calls are being answered out of state."
Hickey: "Why Illinois? Why are our stats so bad?"
Moore: "Well, we haven't put any money into it."
But the transition to the new 988 number comes with an influx of millions in federal funding - to pay, in part, for a brand-new call center in Bloomington and more call takers.
One of those call takers is Anne King, a crisis chat counselor at the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, who spoke to Hickey from Kankakee.
King lost her 13-year-old sister, Erin, to suicide in 1996. She says Erin is with her in spirit while she answers help chats late into the night.
"Usually, Fridays and Saturday nights are very busy," King said. "As soon as I get done with one chat, I'm picking up another."
And 988 won't be dedicated solely to suicidal crises. Counselors will be trained to handle substance use and other mental health issues as well.
"So if you can address those early on, you can stop suicides," Moore said.
The Lifeline's existing toll-free number (800) 273-TALK (8255) still works, but 988 is another way to get to a counselor. You can also send a text to 988 and start a chat with a counselor if you don't feel like talking on the phone.
Again. that 988 hotline goes live this Saturday.
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