988 crisis hotline scheduled to be widespread soon -- faces challenges
Smart Talk
English - May 17, 2022 14:06 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MB - ★★★★ - 21 ratingsNews Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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Almost all Americans should be able to able to dial 9-8-8 on their phones in the future if they are someone close to them is in a crisis.
The 988 hotline is scheduled to go live in mid-July and for many mobile phone users, it's live already and calls are coming into crisis intervention centers.
However, they're facing challenges in getting 988 up and running. That includes people to staff intervention centers and answer the phones, paying for 988 hotlines and just the infrastructure needed.
WITF's Transforming Health reporter Brett Sholtis has investigated the rollout of 988 and is on Tuesday's Smart Talk with details.
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