skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 2, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Heavy lake-effect snow dumps more than 5 feet over parts of Great Lakes region; Study: Fish farms consume far more wild fish than previously thought; Maryland's federal workers prepare to defend their jobs; Federal investments help bolster MA workforce training programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A plan described as the basis for Trump's mass deportations served a very different purpose. Federal workers prepare to defend their jobs if they lose civil service protections, and Ohio enacts bathroom restrictions on transgender people.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Residents in Colorado's rural communities face challenges to recycling, climate change and Oregon's megadrought are worrying firefighters, and a farm advocacy group says corporate greed is behind high food prices in Montana.

Mental health advocates: AR lawmakers can do more to support 988 helpline

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 2, 2024   

Mental health workers are urging lawmakers to draft bipartisan policies to expand access to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The service provides free and confidential support for people in distress. It's been operational for almost two years and a new report from the nonprofit mental health advocacy organization Inseparable shows most states, including Arkansas, have not implemented measures to make it more accessible.

The report showed Arkansas needs 28 mobile response teams, 166 crisis receiving chairs and more than 140 short-term crisis residential beds but there is no 988 legislation pending before lawmakers.

Angela Kimball, chief advocacy officer for Inseparable, said calling 988 should be as common as dialing 911.

"Just like we expect fire trucks to come if there's a fire, we don't ask for insurance information first," Kimball pointed out. "Police come, they don't ask whether or not there's an insurance card or payer first. And the same is true for mental health."

The goal of the lifeline is to give people someone to call, someone to respond, and a safe place to go for help. The Arkansas call centers have a 75% answer rate; the goal is 90%.

The report looked at other aspects of a state's program, including how many mobile response teams are available, if a surcharge has been added to phone bills to cover the cost of the 988 system, and their crisis response needs.

Kimball noted the report gives policymakers the tools needed to move forward with improvements so eventually law enforcement does not have to be called to the scene during a mental health crisis.

"We include data collection, annual legislative reporting system coordination, which is really ensuring that there's coordination between 988 response systems and 911 systems," Kimball emphasized. "Because the goal here is to try and reduce reliance on nine-one-one for mental-health emergencies."

Kimball argued people having a mental health crisis should be taken to a stabilization facility, not a hospital or to jail. She added such changes must be made through legislation.

Disclosure: Inseparable contributes to our fund for reporting on Criminal Justice, Health Issues, Mental Health, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
If New York established an unemployment bridge program, 750,000 workers would be eligible for its benefits. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Immigrant New Yorkers want lawmakers to create an unemployment bridge program. It would support unemployed workers who are ineligible for state …


Social Issues

play sound

A New York organization believes universal public childcare can be implemented in five years. New Yorkers United for Child Care is using its newly …

Social Issues

play sound

Federal investments are helping the city of Boston develop greater workforce training programs. The city received $23 million in 2022 to develop …


Fourteen states prohibit transgender people from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity, according to Human Rights Campaign. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Andrew Tobias for Signal Cleveland.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Ohio News Connection reporting for the Signal Ohio-Public News Service …

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for Maine News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabora…

Animal nutritionists confirm sugar is a key energy source for cows, due to its concentrated and rapidly digestible nature. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient Climate.Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public Ne…

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakotans passed Amendment F on Election Day, opening the door to impose work requirements on people who qualify for expanded Medicaid benefits…

Social Issues

play sound

For some, apprenticeships provide more than just a job, they offer a career path. Industry leaders are working around the clock, not only on their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021