Imagine a teenager who feels they don’t have anyone to talk to and has thoughts of ending their life. Unfortunately, this adolescent is one of 2.7 million who experience depression and anxiety.
Typically, a person in this position might be inclined to call the suicide prevention hotline for support, a service has recently been coined 988. However, this hotline has not been as available as it should be for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. According to a New York Times article, “The Lifeline’s texting and chat lines received about 500,000 contacts during the first half of 2022, but only about 42 percent of those were answered.”
This statistic and many other factors have has led me to believe that the 988 hotline, despite being designed to help those with mental health issues, will fail to do so without additional support.
Furthermore, there are lingering concerns that short-staffed call centers from across the country might not be ready to face the surge in calls when the number goes live on Saturday.
The average social worker works 40 hours a week, and gets paid around 50,000 per year.
988 represents the first major investment—$432 million from the federal government—in mental-health services in the country in decades. Even so, they do not have enough money to hire enough social workers to reach their goal of answering 95 percent of all calls within 20 seconds. “It’s not good enough to get a busy signal or to be put on hold.” said Xavier Becerra, the secretary of health and human services in an interview.
Some may say that the number is backed by more than $400 million in federal funding. Though this is true, the New York Times says that “The national labor shortage has also affected the ability to hire and retain employees.” $400 million really isn’t a lot though, considering the United States spends $754 billion on national defense and $79 billion on education per year.
Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the US, with over 1.20 million suicide attempts in 2020. A solution to this would be stepping up the number of social workers and letting the government know how serious of an issue suicide really is.
Source articles: https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658069695385x420016759723968800/The%20U.S.%20Has%20a%20New%20Crisis%20Hotline_%20988.%20Is%20It%20Prepared%20for%20a%20Surge%20in%20Calls_%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://explorehealthcareers.org/career/social-work/social-worker/#:~:text=Academic%20Requirements%20%7C%20Resources-,Working%20Conditions,Others%20may%20work%20part%20time
https://socialworklicensemap.com/social-work-careers/social-work-salary/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20Average%20Salary,down%20to%20%2424.88%20per%20hour
https://time.com/6197997/988-mental-health-crisis-hotline/
https://www.pgpf.org/budget-basics/budget-explainer-national-defense#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20spent%20%24754,four%20years%20before%20the%20pandemic
https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/topics/school-funding-and-resources/school-funding/federal-funding/#:~:text=Through%20the%20U.S.%20Department%20of,primary%20and%20secondary%20education%20programs
https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/
Typically, a person in this position might be inclined to call the suicide prevention hotline for support, a service has recently been coined 988. However, this hotline has not been as available as it should be for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. According to a New York Times article, “The Lifeline’s texting and chat lines received about 500,000 contacts during the first half of 2022, but only about 42 percent of those were answered.”
This statistic and many other factors have has led me to believe that the 988 hotline, despite being designed to help those with mental health issues, will fail to do so without additional support.
Furthermore, there are lingering concerns that short-staffed call centers from across the country might not be ready to face the surge in calls when the number goes live on Saturday.
The average social worker works 40 hours a week, and gets paid around 50,000 per year.
988 represents the first major investment—$432 million from the federal government—in mental-health services in the country in decades. Even so, they do not have enough money to hire enough social workers to reach their goal of answering 95 percent of all calls within 20 seconds. “It’s not good enough to get a busy signal or to be put on hold.” said Xavier Becerra, the secretary of health and human services in an interview.
Some may say that the number is backed by more than $400 million in federal funding. Though this is true, the New York Times says that “The national labor shortage has also affected the ability to hire and retain employees.” $400 million really isn’t a lot though, considering the United States spends $754 billion on national defense and $79 billion on education per year.
Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the US, with over 1.20 million suicide attempts in 2020. A solution to this would be stepping up the number of social workers and letting the government know how serious of an issue suicide really is.
Source articles: https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658069695385x420016759723968800/The%20U.S.%20Has%20a%20New%20Crisis%20Hotline_%20988.%20Is%20It%20Prepared%20for%20a%20Surge%20in%20Calls_%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://explorehealthcareers.org/career/social-work/social-worker/#:~:text=Academic%20Requirements%20%7C%20Resources-,Working%20Conditions,Others%20may%20work%20part%20time
https://socialworklicensemap.com/social-work-careers/social-work-salary/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20Average%20Salary,down%20to%20%2424.88%20per%20hour
https://time.com/6197997/988-mental-health-crisis-hotline/
https://www.pgpf.org/budget-basics/budget-explainer-national-defense#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20spent%20%24754,four%20years%20before%20the%20pandemic
https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/topics/school-funding-and-resources/school-funding/federal-funding/#:~:text=Through%20the%20U.S.%20Department%20of,primary%20and%20secondary%20education%20programs
https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/
