Advocates for marginalized groups say even the possibility of police getting involved in the response to a call to the national 988 suicide and crisis hotline causes callers harm.
National nonprofit Trans Lifeline has seen a lot of mistrust for the newly launched three-digit line, according to a new report.
“I have actively avoided calling 988 since it’s come out because of the people who have shared that [they] called 988 and the cops showed up,” said one of the over 200 survey participants. “I don’t need the cops when I’m having emotional distress.”
A lot of LGBTQ+ people and people of color are already scared of interacting with the police or being involuntarily committed to a hospital, according to Olka Forster, campaign strategist and program manager at Trans Lifeline.
“Encounters with emergency responders, especially police, too often escalate to violence, psychiatric hospitalization, incarceration, and even death,” Forster said in a livestreamed call.
But in Wyoming, there are some guardrails in place. According to mental health advocate Andi Summerville, only about 1 to 2% of calls end in a police or medical response, and only a sliver of those happen without a caller's consent.
“That is never the desired goal,” said Summerville, who leads a coalition of mental health groups in the state. “Emergency detention is a very serious thing. It's a last option decision when you're trying to save somebody's life.”
Summerville said 988 responders only bring in law enforcement without the caller’s approval when they state a plan to hurt themselves or others, and then hang up.
She said Wyoming is more focused on connecting people with voluntary stabilization centers.
“It's a less severe way of going about getting help and services to them,” Summerville said.
Callers can also specifically ask to connect with a LGBTQI-trained counselor. Summerville said 26 Wyoming callers reached 988 in September and switched to that line.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
