Governor Andy Beshear announced Thursday Kentucky received a grant to assist with the planning and logistics for a nationwide transition to a simplified behavioral health crisis line – known as 988.
Governor Beshear said the state was given $340,000 by Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit administrator of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Beshear said 988 would serve as a simplified three-digit national hotline for mental health care, beginning July 2022. The number will replace the National Suicide hotline number of 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The grant funding was given to the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental, and Intellectual Disabilities. The group will collaborate with state leadership, suicide prevention experts, people with lived experience, and other stakeholders to create a 988 implementation plan. The funding will also support the lifeline’s operational, clinical, and performance standards that allow access to care.
