Thousands of Texans in need are abandoning the state’s suicide hotline midcall every month as call centers struggle under a $7 million funding deficit and a growing suicide rate statewide.
The 988 number — a federally mandated, staterun service that connects callers to crisis counselors — fills an essential niche in the behavioral health care system because it gives catered mental health services in an emergency where 911 might not be appropriate. The hotline has been used thousands of times in two years, but its federal funding is declining, and with a workforce shortage, the system is starting to bend under the demand.
“To be very clear, we’re doing way more work than we’ve ever been able to do,” said Jennifer Battle, supervisor of the 988 system at the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD. “If you want us actually to meet the volume of Texas, then somebody’s got to decide to increase the resources that are made available to centers so that we can increase the number of people we serve.”
