Virginia demand for 988 skyrockets as mental health crisis worsens
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Two years after the debut of the 988 national suicide hotline, Virginia is still struggling to meet the demand.
Why it matters: It's in large part because that demand has skyrocketed as the nation's mental health crisis has worsened.
The big picture: Virginia's answer rates have increased from its record low of 67% in August 2021, per an Axios analysis of data from July 2021 to May 2024.
- But they've hovered around 83% since May, which is lower than last year's average of 91% and lower than the national average of 88%.
Yes, but: In Virginia, 988 call volumes have also increased 157% between May 2022 and May 2024, per KFF.
- In August, the latest data available, 988 in Virginia received 14,299 calls.
- That's more than twice the 6,236 calls received last November, when answer rates were last at 90%.
- Meanwhile Rhode Island, a smaller state that has the highest answer rate in the U.S. at 97%, fielded 1,365 calls — a fraction of Virginia's numbers.
Zoom in: One reason for the uptick is a ramp-up of in-state marketing for the hotline last year, said Curt Gleeson, the assistant commissioner for crisis services whose team manages Virginia's 988 efforts.
- Another is that as of last December, you have to call 988 to get a mobile crisis response.
"We knew there would be an increase. We didn't anticipate that it would more than double," Gleeson told Axios.
- "That's just a dramatic volume in a very short amount of time to keep up with," said Gleeson, who added that federal officials initially estimated Virginia would receive about 11,000 monthly calls.
To help improve the answer rates, Virginia's 988 centers have converted more staff to full-time, adjusted staffing to meet peak hours, increased hiring and pulled staff from other states to help.
- But workforce shortages are a nationwide challenge in behavioral health, and training can take time, Gleeson said.
- Plus, "it's just an incredibly hard job, so there's going to be a lot of turnover," Gleeson told Axios.
What's next: Gleeson says work is underway to understand the reasons people call 988 to anticipate people's needs and adjust resources and staff to better meet them.
The bottom line: "We will succeed," Gleeson said. "The fact that we're having so many calls shows that the system works. We just have to continue to fine tune it and improve it and help it mature."
For more information on 988, visit 988va.org