Over the weekend, Joe Biden boasted about the success of a new national suicide hotline.
“One year after its launch, our Administration’s 988 suicide and crisis hotline has helped 5 million Americans when they needed it most,” Biden tweeted.
“One year ago, we launched 988 — a national network of crisis centers to answer calls and texts from folks who need rapid mental health care,” a separate tweet noted. “Mental health affects all of us. And I remain committed to ensuring that every American has access to support when they need it.”
There’s just one rather significant key detail that Biden neglected to mention: the hotline was created back in 2019 when Donald Trump was president.
“President Trump has signed into law a bipartisan bill to create a three-digit number for mental health emergencies. The Federal Communications Commission had already picked 988 as the number for this hotline and aims to have it up and running by July 2022. The new law paves the way to make that a reality,” reported NPR back in 2020. “The existing lifeline is a national network of about 170 local crisis centers. When someone calls the national number, they’re routed to the local crisis center that’s closest to them.”
“We are thrilled because this is a game changer,” Robert Gebbia, CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said at the time. The new number 988, replaced the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. “When you’re in crisis and you’re already emotionally upset, the hardest thing to do is find the number that’s a 10-digit number and call it.”
The three-digit number most certainly makes it easier for people to remember the number when they need it most. “When there are other emergencies, we know 911,” Gebbia said. “It’s ingrained in our heads — we don’t have to think about it.”
Gebbia and others agreed that 988 will similarly become ubiquitous for Americans in need of mental health support and services.
“A national three-digit number will make it far easier for millions of Americans to reach out for help and get an immediate connection to care when they’re experiencing a mental health or suicidal crisis,” Kimberly Williams, the president and CEO of Vibrant Emotional Health, the organization that runs the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, said. “Most importantly, 988 will help save lives.”
The bill that created 988 received bipartisan support in Congress before Trump signed it into law. It’s shameful the way Joe Biden has politicized it by claiming sole credit for it, yet sadly, it’s par for the course with Joe Biden.
