988 National Suicide Prevention Number Takes Effect Soon In Illinois

ILLINOIS— Illinois is one of nearly three dozen states in the United States where some phone users will need to dial a 10-digit number to reach The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline telephone number, which will be simplified to 988 beginning on Saturday.

The change was required because the new three-digit suicide prevention hotline number is also a prefix (the second set of three digits of a phone number) in 82 area codes in 35 states and Guam. In Illinois, the area codes that will be affected in Illinois and where residents will need to use the 10-digit-number to reach The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline include:

• 309
• 618
• 708

Until the switch on Saturday, Illinois residents in crisis should continue to dial or text 800-273-8255. Online chat services are also available. Service members, veterans, and their families can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by pressing 1, or by either texting 838255, or online.

All those suicide prevention services will remain operational after the transition, too, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Some mental health experts are worried states haven’t adequately prepared for the switch to 988.

Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, an assistant secretary at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said at a news conference Thursday she has been working with states on funding to determine their readiness for the 988 switch, USA Today reported.

Some crisis centers are worried about their ability to staff crisis response centers, and about the funding needed for the launch. A report from the agency Delphin-Rittmon heads projects that calls to the suicide hotline will increase by more than half in 2022 with 7.6 million calls, texts, or online chats, compared to 3.3 million in 2020.

The Biden administration set aside $432 million for the initial investment in the transition, another $177 million to expand the lifeline infrastructure, and almost $105 million in direct grants to states and territories, Delphin-Rittmon said.

Fewer than half of state legislatures have approved bills to fund 988 implementation, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.

Last year, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a pair of mental health bills into law. The first, House Bill 2595, requires medically necessary mental healthcare to be covered by insurance beginning on Jan. 1, 2023.

Pritzker also signed House Bill 2784, which creates a first responder service that coordinates 911 and 988 emergency calls when the change takes effect this weekend.

This initiative, which is the first statewide approach of its kind in the nation, according to the governor’s office, aims to reduce arrests for those with mental illnesses who are deserving of a specialist's intervention.

"I'm proud and inspired to be a part of making bold changes to our mental healthcare services in Illinois that will help all Illinoisans receive the essential services and care they need, no matter where they live or their socioeconomic status," Pritzker said in a news release when he signed the bills into law.

"Mental healthcare is healthcare. It's medically necessary, it's lifesaving, and it can help address the systemic trauma that has held many communities back for far too long."

The 988 rollout comes amid escalating suicides and suicide attempts, especially among adolescents and teen girls ages 12-17, during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research.

Mental health-related emergency room visits by people in that age group increased 31 percent in 2020, compared to 2019, and the trend appears to be continuing, according to CDC research. It showed:

From Feb. 21-March 20, 2021, ER visits for attempted suicides among girls ages 12-17 were 50.6 percent higher than during the same period in 2019. Over the same period, the increase in suicide attempts for boys of the same ages was 3.7 percent.

The trend is alarming because overall, suicide rates are significantly higher among males than females, according to CDC data cited in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report on the 988 conversions.

Overall, 1,362 residents of all ages of Illinois died by suicide in 2020, which amounts to 10.5suicide deaths per 100,000 people according to CDC. That compares to 1,439 suicide deaths in 2019.