TW** Did some research on the suicide prevention hotline posted up around New York this week: here are some facts. So! 988 launches on the 16th nationwide. This is a shortening of the 10 digit hotline number you may have seen in the past. There may be a minute or two of waiting music, it’s typically no longer than a minute! A counselor will speak to you and if needed come up with a safety plan. If you aren’t comfortable speaking on the phone as prefer text you can start with a simple “TALK” to 741741. From what I can find online less than 3% of calls end in intervention from police ( again that’s what they are saying not sure how true that is) Typically if necessary a safety plan is agreed upon by the caller and the counselor, many people call in need of support rather than a full safety plan. This is supposed to mark the beginnings of addressing mental health and making life saving services accessible on a national scale. reality is that fear is a huge barrier for those seeking access to mental health care and emergency services, while these posters are great I feel like they should let people know what to expect and be specific. Like I’m not going to call if I don’t know what kind of “help” I’m getting you know? This is such a weird area to navigate because conversations around suicide and mental health are rarely seen as things that are okay to talk about. Tell me what ya think about 988!