988 Lifeline focuses on increasing awareness in second year

Despite low public awareness, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline answered nearly five million texts, chats, and calls in its first year.
Launched in July 2022, the 988 Lifeline answered two million more contacts in a 12-month period than the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline it replaced, according to Vibrant Emotional Health, which manages the 988 program.
The most dramatic increase nationally was texting, according to Vibrant. Text volume increased 1,135 percent (from 87,000 to 673,500 texts) compared to the 12 months prior.
Forty-six percent more phone calls were answered, while 141 percent more chats were answered. The average speed to answer all contacts decreased from two minutes, 39 seconds to 41 seconds.
Rhode Island a...