Calls to Wisconsin's Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Have Skyrocketed

Thursday, January 26th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

(By Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) Calls to Wisconsin's suicide and crisis lifeline have skyrocketed in the months since the hotline switched to a simplified 988 number, federal data shows.

According to Sarah Lehr with Wisconsin Public Radio, crisis centers across the country debuted the 988 number on July 16, as part of a bipartisan bill signed by former President Donald Trump about two years prior.

The hope is that the three-digit hotline, available for free to anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide, substance abuse or other mental health emergencies, will be easier to remember than the previous 10-digit number for what was known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Thus far, the switch appears to have coincided with significantly higher call volumes nationwide, and Wisconsin has been no exception. Between August and December 2022, for example, Wisconsin's 988 crisis lifeline received 29,501 calls, a 66 percent jump in call volume compared to the same time period in 2021.

As Wisconsin fields more calls, it's also referring more of them out-of-state to back-up call centers. During the last five months, 78 percent of the calls received in Wisconsin were answered in-state and 13 percent were sent to back-up call centers.

Nearly 9 percent of the calls were considered "abandoned" because they were disconnected before the caller interacted with a counselor at an in-state center. That might happen because the caller hung up or because of technical glitches like phone carrier interruptions.

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