WA Department of Health’s new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website offers local resources

Rosemary Montalvo
·2 min read

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced the launch of a new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website in a news release on May 14.

988 was established as the universal telephone line to access the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis hotline in the United States in 2020 after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act. The 988 Lifeline is free and confidential, and is available everyday of the year, 24 hours a day by phone call, text or online chat.

According to the news release, the website is part of the state’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Awareness Campaign and is supposed to work in conjunction with the existing national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website.

The Washington 988 website is designed specifically for people living in Washington state in order to increase awareness and familiarity about the 988 Lifeline services while also providing state residents with local resources.

“Our state’s new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline campaign website highlights Washington-specific mental health resources, including many specifically designed for priority populations,” Michele Roberts, Assistant Secretary, Prevention and Community Health Division stated in a news release. “We hope this new website provides more awareness of this lifesaving free and confidential service, encourages people to use the lifeline, and supports a more compassionate and accessible mental and behavioral health care system.”

The DOH’s website answers frequently asked questions about 988 Lifeline’s services and resources to people in crisis in order to reduce disparities and work to prevent suicide by raising awareness.

The website also features a chat function that connects people in Washington experiencing a crisis with a trained counselor. According to the website, trained counselors are able to provide support for people experiencing:

  • Thoughts of suicide or self harm

  • Emotional stress

  • Concern about someone else

Although the 988 launched nationwide July 2022, many people in Washington are still unfamiliar with the lifeline. A new study conducted by DOH found that 37% of respondents said they were familiar with 988, while 80% of participants whose primary language is not English did not know about the lifeline, according to the news release.

As of this year, Washington has three 988 Lifeline crisis centers: Volunteers of America Western Washington, Frontier Behavioral Health and Crisis Connections. Each of these centers answer calls, texts and chats.

Last June, South Sound 911 partnered with Volunteers of America and launched a new mental health-support pilot program in Pierce County that brought in trained 988 counselors to the 911 center in Tacoma.

If you or anyone you know is thinking about suicide or would like emotional support call or text 988 or chat with someone online.