988 Lifeline to launch Saturday in Illinois

MACON COUNTY, Ill. (WAND)- Saturday morning, a new mental health crisis lifeline is set to launch across the country. In Macon County, a local behavioral health clinic is preparing to field calls for help.

988 is being branded the "911 for mental health".

"It was kind of a seamless transition for us to be in the position to provide those services," Chelsea Mueller, Senior Clinical Director for Heritage Behavioral Health Center told WAND News.

Heritage Behavioral Health has been running a 24-7 hotline for years, so it made sense for the company to take over 988 calls for Macon and Dewitt Counties.

"Anybody who calls 988 in our area will be linked to a Heritage crisis worker for the support that they're needing," Mueller explained.

This can be anything from a mental health emergency, like a suicide attempt, to simply feeling out of control and needing to talk.

"That could come in various kinds of forms. Sometimes people just need somebody to listen. Sometimes people are calling because they want treatment services," Mueller added.

988 is replacing the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, so most calls will be handled over the phone. But crisis workers can also be dispatched to those needing immediate help.

"In other instances when folks might need an outreach person- someone to go to them. Or an instance where we think there's a need for us to be physically present in order to coordinate or facilitate some sort of support or treatment- we will absolutely do that," Mueller explained.

Illinois' 6 hubs for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline fielded almost 92,000 calls in 2020. Now these hubs, along with many other providers- like Heritage Behavioral Health- will answer calls 24-7 for those in need.

"I hope that the more people use the services, and the more that they can speak to how good the quality of support is, the word will get out," Mueller said.

The existing hubs in Illinois include the Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, the Lake County Health Department's Crisis Care Program, DuPage County Health Department, Memorial Behavioral Health in Springfield, Path Crisis Center in Bloomington and Suicide Prevention Services in Batavia.

Until Saturday, anyone in a crisis can still call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255. The line will also remain live once 988 launches. Anyone can call or text 988 beginning Saturday.