Use of North Carolina’s 988 crisis line has more than doubled since launch
State officials say the service averaged nearly 16,000 calls, texts and chats per month during the six months ending in May.
RALEIGH — Use of North Carolina’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has more than doubled since the service began in 2022, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The crisis line averaged 15,972 calls, texts and online chats per month during the six-month period ending in May 2026. That was a 10% increase from the previous six-month period and more than twice the monthly contact level recorded during the service’s first year.
The 988 line is available 24 hours a day for people experiencing depression, emotional distress, a mental health crisis or thoughts of self-harm. It may also be used by people who need someone to talk with or who are seeking help for another person.
Services are available by telephone, text and online chat in English and Spanish. The system also provides targeted services for veterans and video-call access using American Sign Language.
North Carolina’s 988 service is operated by the REAL Crisis Center in Greenville under the state’s behavioral-health crisis system.
NCDHHS has added new tools intended to connect callers with treatment and local crisis services more quickly.
A Mobile Crisis Dispatch process launched in March allows 988 operators to send a mobile crisis team or directly connect callers with a local provider or other resource. The pilot began in 10 eastern North Carolina counties and has expanded to 27 counties.
The original counties included Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Halifax, Lenoir, Nash, Sampson, Warren, Wayne and Wilson.
The state also upgraded its Behavioral Health Statewide Central Availability Navigator, known as BH SCAN. The system allows 988 operators to search for available mental-health beds and identify appropriate treatment options.
NCDHHS said the updated system has reduced wait times and helped connect people with the appropriate level of care more quickly.
The state’s Peer Warmline also works in conjunction with 988. The warmline is staffed by peer-support specialists who have personal experience with mental-health or substance-use disorders. NCDHHS recently added text and chat services to the warmline.
State officials describe 988 as part of a broader crisis-response system intended to provide someone to contact, someone who can respond and a safe place for a person to receive care without automatically relying on hospital emergency departments or law enforcement.
People facing an immediate mental-health or suicide crisis may call or text 988.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
