www . AmericanSecurityToday . com 2022 CHAMPIONS - Edition 66
Currently , 988 landline calls will be routed to local / state call cen- ters staffed by counselors and individuals trained in collabora- tion with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline . They will take mental health calls , ad- dress the immediate needs of callers , and help facilitate ongo- ing mental health care .
Mobile calls , however , are treat- ed differently . Unlike 911 where mobile calls are routed based on the location of the call itself , 988 calls will be routed via the mobile phone ’ s area code . That means someone with a Boston area code , calling 988 from Cali- fornia , will likely reach someone in Massachusetts , and not closer to them in California .
While location is often not criti- cal for 988 calls , there remains an important percentage of calls that require escalation to local first responder agencies that can help prevent harm to the caller and others .
This is where the location of the caller can be so critical . As public safety and mental health re- sponses evolve and improve , the use of technology will greatly reduce the gaps that currently exist and allow communities to provide both an appropriate and comprehensive ensive response .
In the past , individuals and fam- ilies could turn to several places for mental health support – the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline , the Veterans Crisis Line , or different local support systems . But mental health ex- perts recognized that there was a need for more consolidated efforts .
203