82% unfamiliar with 988 one year after launch, study says

Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in North Carolina.

The hotline, which was previously reached by dialing 1-800-273-8255, transitioned to the shorter 988 number on July 16. 2022.

Despite being in service for a year now and and the service receiving over 5 million calls, texts and online chat messages, many people are still unsure about how it works.

'Help is available:' NC to launch new 988 mental health hotline

Counselor Kamala Uzell is hopeful advertising will help more people become familiar with the hotline and what its for.

"I'm glad that we were able to launce the 988 Hotline and there was the advertisement done," Uzell said. "As we all know, there are a lot of things that have been going on over the past several years with the pandemic. We just need as many resources as possible for individuals to be able to get mental health care."

Patrick Sullivan with UNC's Suicide Prevention Institute said the institute and Carolina Across 100 Project are partnering to for the "Our State, Our Wellbeing" program, which aims to bring down the number of suicides state wide.

NC's new 988 mental health hotline sees 22% year-to-year increase compared to old 1-800 number

The program, which will last for one year. helps identify specific ways to improve mental health overall and, ultimately, reduce the number of suicides. The approach, according to Sullivan, will vary from county-to-county.

"The counties in North Carolina are incredibly diverse," Sullivan explained. "There is no one-size-fits-all solution. We wanted tailored solutions to what the need is on the ground by talking with people that actually have their finger on the pulse of what's happening in the region."

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"The numbers for mental health in kids in particular are not good," Sullivan said. "We really want to make a concerted effort to improve that as well as we can."

For Uzell, the number will help people who may be going through a mental health crisis and not realize it because of how much they have to focus on.

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"I think on a regular daily basis, folks in our society, individuals in our society, are trying to go to work, they’re trying to take care of their families," Uzell said. "They have other things on their mind, and they may have a mental health diagnoses. They may be struggling in different ways, but there are a lot of things that are urgent that need to happen right away."

Get Help: County-by-county guide to mental health and crisis resources in NC