Over the past year, Philadelphia has tried to make residents aware of 988, an easy-to-dial number for suicide and mental health crisis services, but many city teens still say they don’t. have never heard of it.
The line was rolled out nationally in July 2022, after being announced by federal officials in Philadelphia. The death of Walter Wallace Jr., who died in 2020 after being shot by police during a mental health crisis in West Philly, brought much attention to the topic, sparking protests across the city.
There has been a growing need for mental health resources across the country since the pandemic, as people struggle with the social, emotional and financial fallout. The need is particularly acute among young people — emergency visits related to mental health increased by 31% for people ages 12 to 17 nationwide from 2019 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 988 line, designed as an easy-to-remember alternative to 911 for mental health crises, is meant to help anyone access local crisis resources and non-police help in an emergency.
But of about two dozen Philadelphia youth informally surveyed recently, about two-thirds had never heard of the crisis hotline. Almost all said 988 would be beneficial.
“We have so much about us as kids growing up today,” Geeia Mahoney, a 15-year-old sophomore at Philadelphia High School for Girls. “We no longer experience our childhood confronted with all the struggles we face in our daily lives and these basic necessities that impact our mental health. »
And, she says, having support is essential.
It would help a lot of people, Mahoney said, “to just be on the phone with someone and help you and help you through whatever you’re going through personally.” It would also help if someone “came and checked you out and made sure everything is stable inside you…that you’re not going to harm yourself or anyone else,” she said.
So why haven’t Mahoney, or most of the other teens interviewed, heard of 988? City leaders say they’re not too surprised, despite their ongoing outreach efforts.
“As far as everyone knowing about 988, we don’t expect that yet,” said Jill Bowen, commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Services (DBHIDS). ), in an interview with student journalists.
Philadelphia, along with many other cities and counties across the country, is grappling with misinformation about 988 circulating on social media, including concerns about the system’s privacy, as well as continued widespread stigma around seeking help for mental health problems.
There is also no budget for a national advertising campaign around 988, supported by the federal government, leaving local governments to fend for themselves to get the message out.
Philadelphia residents may have heard PSAs about 988 or seen posters or social media posts created by the city and its communications partners, but Bowen said that despite this awareness, they still hear many people in the community who don’t know. approximately 988.
When DBHIDS held a series of community “listening sessions” over the past year, it included a session aimed at high school students — a group from an inner-city charter school who live in the North, North -East and West Philadelphia, according to the department.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Bowen said.
Growing need among young people
Amira Adam, a student at Julia R. Masterman High School who hadn’t heard of 988, said she wouldn’t have known what to do in a mental health crisis other than call 911.
“It’s good that there’s something dedicated to mental health because it’s a huge issue,” Adam said. “And I hope that’s helpful because I don’t think a lot of people know that.”
Evan Lu, a student at Drexel University, had a friend who was recently struggling with mental health issues. “I tried to seek mental help counseling along the way to help him,” Lu said. “If I had known about 988, I would have called 988 to get information that could help him. help.”
Despite the lack of widespread awareness, the number of calls, texts and chats received over the past year has steadily increased across the country. In Philadelphia, more than 107,000 calls were received between January and June, averaging about 6,000 calls per month. The city’s mobile community crisis response teams were dispatched nearly 10,000 times during the same period.
The city did not have data on how many teens accessed the line, but nearly 2,700 of the city’s approximately 9,000 mobile dispatches where age was listed (about 30%) were among children and youth. under 29 years old.
In September, the federal government launched a pilot line within 988 to support LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, who are four times more likely to consider suicide than their heterosexual peers. Since its launch, demand for the line has accounted for about 6% of 988 calls and 11% of chats and texts, or about 138,000 contacts in total, according to Vibrant Emotional Health, which administers the 988 line.
Philadelphia’s DBHIDS plans to use the results of its high school listening session to tailor a youth-friendly advertising and awareness campaign, which is expected to roll out this fall, according to the department. T
It will include gifts like fridge magnets, stickers and other items; a toolkit for schools and youth-focused institutions; and a social media campaign led by adolescent “influencers” in the community. Outreach will also include partnering with city schools, including charter and private schools.
Some Philadelphia teens said they’ll definitely use 988 now that they know it’s a thing.
“It is extremely important to have a dedicated mental health emergency number to ensure appropriate support and assistance,” said Tiffany Huang, a sophomore at Philadelphia High School for Girls.
Amy La, a sophomore at Girls’ High, says young people using 988 more could make a huge difference: “Making it easier and less complicated to access help would save more lives and save convince more people to reach out, rather than forcing them to do so. take an easier route to ending their lives.
