RoonDec 3, 2022
Saltchuler

For those in the United States:

988 is a new phone number that recently went live to help people get help in a mental health crisis. Similar to 911, this line is dedicated for anyone in need of mental health assistance of any kind. It's 988.

Please boost to spread the news. Save someone's life.

#SuicideAwareness #988 #mentalhealth

https://988lifeline.org/

988 Lifeline

At the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, we understand that life’s challenges can sometimes be difficult. Whether you’re facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns…

988 Lifeline
Nov 28, 2022 at 1:03amWeb
Show threadCheetahmarieNov 28, 2022
@Saltchuler this is great thank you! 🙏🏻. I work with veterans and a lot of them will not call a veterans crisis hotline. I needed this-thank you!!!!! 💕
Show threadOfficially Tara 🕷️  🌹Nov 28, 2022
@Saltchuler but... who does it call? will this result in dispatching cops? I'm always leery of mental health hotlines unless they promise upfront not to send cops, who just make mental health situations worse.
Show threadrm -liningerNov 5, 2023
@tarajdactyl @Saltchuler the hotline responders will call the police. Not every time, but the people who most need the service are the most likely to be harmed. https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/05/psychiatric-detentions-rise-988/
Psychiatric Detentions Rise 120% in First Year of 988

As contacts to the new 988 suicide hotline number have risen, so have call tracing and police interventions.

Mad In America
Show threadRuthlessBunnyNov 28, 2022

@Saltchuler

Does that mean the cops won’t come? Because that’s kind of what’s needed.

Show threadKaren CarrNov 28, 2022
@Saltchuler Note, however, that they do not guarantee that they won't send the police to your house if you call and they feel it is needed.
Show threadlobsterNov 30, 2022
@Quatrus @Saltchuler good point, suicide without government interference is illegal in many invested #KarenStates    🏴‍☠️ 🏴
Show thread❄ SnowWrite ❄Nov 29, 2022
@Saltchuler This is awesome thank you!!
Show threadRichard GadsdenNov 29, 2022
@Saltchuler 116 123 should do something similar in most European countries.
Show thread@[email protected]Nov 29, 2022

@Saltchuler

@rgod8855

you can even text #988 if you're not a phone person. mental health help is easier to access with this easy to remember phone number. thanks for posting!

Show threadAlbert Cashier's CousinNov 29, 2022
@Saltchuler Also, remember that not everybody you run into will be able to use it. It is only good in the United States, I think.
Show threadThe Deer Whisperer 🦌⚓Nov 29, 2022
@Saltchuler Press "1" at the prompt if you are a Veteran
Show threadwilcoNov 29, 2022
@Saltchuler thanks this is super important and MUCH easier to remember!
Show threadTracy Thayne 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿|🇺🇸Nov 29, 2022
@Saltchuler thank you. Remembering my brother who died by suicide.
Show threadMarkie ☺️Nov 29, 2022
@Saltchuler ah that We have 111 phone line emergency but not urgent in UK 🇬🇧
Show threadms_wennerstrandDec 1, 2022
@Saltchuler Let’s work together to make #SafeHotlines
for all Crisis Callers. #Trans #Lifeline #Hotline (US) 877-565-8860. No nonconsensual active rescue (calling 911, emergency services, or law enforcement).
Show threadMy OpinionDec 1, 2022

@Saltchuler

988

Show threadMy OpinionDec 1, 2022
@Saltchuler
Show threadMeow.tar.gz  Dec 4, 2022
@Saltchuler Be very careful because #988 also may summon police. As just about anyone with a #mentalillness can tell you, the police exacerbate the problem. I have one and I was taken to the hospital in handcuffs despite being non-violent and suicidal. The charge nurse at the hospital yelled at the cop to take the handcuffs off because they were in no way necessary.
Show threadKevix (he/him) :debian:Dec 4, 2022
@ablackcatstail @Saltchuler it is sort of police policy to use cuff even for kids. its ableist/saneist.
Show threadVeadaDec 5, 2022
@Saltchuler Good to know.
Show threadShush🗽WearADamnMask😷💉💉💉Dec 5, 2022

@Saltchuler

Great #news!
#ThankYou for sharing!

Please #edit your toot to include a "#CW"/#ContentWarning. CWs (and "#AltText" descriptions on shared #images/#Photos - see my pinned toot on Rules/Use tips,) are a big deal here. Peeps more likely to boost if CWs are included.

B/c your toot doesn't have CW, I'm including CW in this reply, and boosting it, so your toot gets indirectly boosted. I'll boost you aft you edit.😉

#MentalHealth
#Fediverse
#FediTips

Show threadPeterPDec 13, 2022
@Saltchuler went to Peter Hook concert (joy division bass player) and he was promoting it back in august this year.
Show threadLex Starwalker has moved.Dec 13, 2022
@Saltchuler I boosted this for those who might need it. Then I realized I might need it one day. I'm still adjusting to my new reality post-COVID.
Show threadBeachgirlbrigitteDec 16, 2022
@Saltchuler
Show threadAutisticMumTo3Dec 18, 2022
@Saltchuler As far as I know the closest we have in the UK is the Samaritans who are a charity that provides a phone line suicidal folk can ring for help.
Show threadJaguarior JonesNov 3, 2023
@Saltchuler
Show threadRichard Michael BlaberNov 4, 2023
@Saltchuler In the UK, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, at any time 24/7, or via email at [email protected], although it may take several days to get a response this way. For Welsh speakers, contact 0808 164 0123.
Show threadAlexNov 4, 2023
@Saltchuler
Remember: Even if we don't get along, I want you to be okay.
Show threadmaddilyn Nov 4, 2023
@Saltchuler
Thanks, being aware of 988 and other crisis lines can be life saving. There is complexity that drives misinformation.
tldr;
988 is a framework implemented at state level
Not all states have done more than the minimum
The goal is to remove law enforcement from the response but in most places law enforcement is still dispatched
Simply talking about suicide is not enough to trigger an emergency response - there must be a judgement of imminent danger of suicide
1/
Show threadmaddilyn Nov 4, 2023
Crisis lines will often break trust with the caller by not telling them that emergency response is being sent. I think this may be a large part of inaccurate perceptions of how the system works. I no longer volunteer with a crisis line because of this lying. The key to not having the police show up is to be able to safety plan convincingly if one has a plan and means, or being passively suicidal.
2/
Show threadmaddilyn Nov 4, 2023
Lines are supposed to provide a safe space to talk about anything, including suicidal thoughts. The intent is always to descalate without involving a response. Emergency responders are sent in cases when there is a judgement of imminent danger of suicide. The caller’s intent, plan and means, as well as other factors are part of the evaluation. As long as a caller will make a safety plan no responders should be sent, but this a judgement call.
3/
Show threadmaddilyn Nov 4, 2023
988, and before that the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (SPL), is not national. It is implemented at a state level. Each state will have one or more call centers to answer calls and provide local resources which could include outpatient therapy, a visit by a crisis team of mental health providers, access to mental health programs, information, etc.
Staff is trained, but phone answerer is not necessarily a mental health provider.
4/
Show threadmaddilyn Nov 4, 2023
In most areas law enforcement is still used if there is a perceived need for a response. Some cities have changed to send mental health providers, and 988 is intended to change this.
Not all states have implemented 988 beyond forwarding the calls to existing SPL call centers.
https://reimaginecrisis.org/map/
So one’s experience as a caller is going to vary, some states have greater protections, some cities have more resources, most use law enforcement and some don’t.
5/
#ReimagineCrisis 988 Crisis Response State Legislation Map

Learn more about what 988 implementation and crisis services legislation is moving in statehouses across the country.

Reimagine Crisis
Show threadmaddilyn Nov 4, 2023
This article gets into some of the complexity of the system and documents other lines one could use:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/08/11/1116769071/social-media-posts-warn-people-not-to-call-988-heres-what-you-need-to-know
6/
Show threadWade RobertsNov 4, 2023

@Saltchuler when suicide is treated as the problem to be fixed, it explicitly precludes exploration and identification of the true cause of distress, and helps perpetuate them.

Help suicide become a normal and open element of discussion, and not the shield it often becomes protecting true problems from scrutiny.

Show threadIzzyNov 5, 2023

@Saltchuler 988 will send the police to the subject of their calls. The police are liable to either murder the vulnerable person directly or inflict involuntary psychiatric detention on them, which vastly increases the likelihood that they will eventually die. Indeed, if a trans person is involuntarily detained, they will almost certainly be detransitioned, guaranteeing their death.

If you call 988 on someone in a mental crisis, you are gambling with their life and their wellbeing, and you are a murderer if they end up dead.