Editor’s note: This article is the fourth in a series by the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative examining possible solutions to an ongoing mental health crisis among youth. This work is supported by a grant from the nonprofit Solutions Journalism Network.

Crisis hotline offers support 24-7 by call, text or chat

By Brook Stockberger & Diana Alba Soular

LAS CRUCES – You may have heard about a nationwide mental health hotline – the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. But did you know kids, not just adults, can call or text it in either English or Spanish?

Resources like this free hotline – available 24-7 and year-round, become especially valuable in an area like Southern New Mexico – where, according to the federal government, there aren’t enough mental health professionals to serve the population. The fact that 988 offers support in Spanish also is an asset in a bilingual region.

Counselors and advocates have said Gen Z youth across Southern New Mexico, for a variety of reasons, are facing a mental health crisis. The trend is seen nationally, too.

John Burch of Las Cruces, a motivational speaker who works with kids in local schools, said he carries 988 materials – stickers, magnets, and fliers — anywhere he’s invited to present. As a survivor of two suicide attempts himself, he delivers a hopeful message to students and freely hands out hotline info. He said an Arrowhead Park Early College High student once told him she reached out to 988 during a mental health crisis.

“She claims it absolutely saved her life,” said Burch, also a member of the Las Cruces Suicide Prevention Task Force. “There's been a few kids I know who have used it and have gotten incredible results.”

Kids seeking to use the hotline can call it or text the number to access trained crisis counselors. There’s also an online chat box feature available.

Research has found that hotlines help reduce callers’ sense of crisis, stabilization that paves the way to connect to more resources.

A streamlined number

In 2022, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline came into existence in New Mexico and across the nation. People of any age who are facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns or even just need someone to talk to, can reach a crisis counselor by simply calling or texting 988.

Since its launch, the 988 Lifeline has received 10.8 million calls, texts and chats, across the country, reports KFF, a health research and polling organization. In May 2024, monthly contacts exceeded half a million, up about one-third from a year before and 80 percent since inception.

Even before the 988 number came into being, the state of New Mexico offered mental health crisis and warm lines. But the numbers were not as simple – and memorable – as 988. Experts said the hotlines, whether 988 or its earlier versions that are still active, are tapping into the same crisis support infrastructure in New Mexico.

A journalist with the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative texted 988 at mid-afternoon on a Thursday and was chatting with a counselor about five minutes later. The hotline notifies the user about options for veterans and LGBTQ+ youth, and it asks basic questions, such as whether you’re experiencing thoughts of suicide. A counselor provided their first name and then responded to the issues raised by the person texting.

Tenika Sosa-Gonzalez, director of community solutions and impact at FYI+ in Las Cruces, said the 988 hotline serves an important role in crisis support. 

“The crisis system is someone to contact, someone to respond, and somewhere to be,” said Sosa-Gonzalez, also a psychiatric nurse. “Nine-eight-eight is the ‘someone to contact’ immediately. There's the option in Spanish and the option that supports LGTBQ+ youth. We know they experience mental health crises at a higher rate and need extra support.”

There is no age requirement to use the 988 line, but someone texting or chatting would need to be able to read well enough to understand the prompts and interact with a counselor.

‘Absolutely amazing resource’

Burch, who also goes by “Coach JAB,” said mental health crises can strike any time, like in the middle of the night or perhaps during the school day, when it might otherwise seem difficult to get help. Round-the-clock availability is a key benefit of 988.

“Since it is 24-7, it is an absolutely amazing resource,” he said. “If you're in school, middle of the day, you can text that line and get some support.”

Youth suicide has been a growing concern among health professionals. Nationally, the rate of suicide was stable in the early 2000s, but then increased sharply– by 62% – from 2007 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (It rose from 6.8 deaths per 100,000 population to 11 deaths). Suicide among pre-teens as young as 8 is on the rise. And the rate of increase among some sub-groups, including Black youth, has been especially steep.

In the last three months of 2023, a total of 101 youth ages 5 to 17 visited emergency departments across New Mexico in connection with a suicide attempt, according to the New Mexico Public Education Department.

“We've got a crisis on our hands, and I don't think we talk about it enough,” said Burch. “In my mind, it deserves a COVID-type response effort.”

Therapists agreed the 988 hotline being textable is incredibly important for tech-savvy Generation Z, whose ages are now roughly 12 to 27. Many of them have grown up with devices in hand.

Asked about the number of youth making use of 988 in New Mexico, a hotline representative said those numbers weren’t available. Call volume among all ages increased 74% in New Mexico from May 2022 – just prior to 988’s launch – to May 2024, according to KFF. (That calculation doesn’t include chats or texts to the hotline – data for which was not available on the state level.) With the increasing demand sparked by the implementation of 988 comes increasing costs to states, according to one 2024 study.

KFF suggests there’s a need for states to collect and analyze more metrics relating to 988 use to better understand how people are using and what improvements will be needed in the future.

A crisis is not required to call

While the 988 hotline is a resource for youth struggling with thoughts of suicide, advocates emphasize that it’s not just for children and teens also can call it if they’re simply feeling emotional or mental discomfort and need a friendly person to talk to – or chat with. They can also call or text if they’re worried about someone else’s mental health.

“The cool thing about 988 is that the voice on the other end of the line is a friendly voice,” Sosa-Gonzalez said.

People can be entirely anonymous when calling or texting 988, and, while they might be asked demographic information, they don’t have to complete it to access support, Sosa-Gonzalez said.

“There's levels of safety involved, but they have a good amount of autonomy to say what they want to share or don't want to share,” she said.

While many kids have phones these days, for those who don’t, a school-issued laptop or device can serve as a way to access 988 through its chat feature.

Counselors can help connect callers to resources and additional support in their local areas.

Raising awareness

A key challenge remains in connecting youth to 988, however. About one-half of Gen Z youth surveyed in a poll across the U.S. reported they’d never heard of the crisis line. The Harris Poll conducted the survey in mid-2023 among youth ages 14 to 25.

Burch said unfortunately many people don’t know about the hotline.

“I don't feel it's used enough, and I think getting the word out about 988 is so essential for us because in New Mexico we do struggle across the board with these issues,” he said. 

Local advocates said they hope word of mouth among students will help spread the news about the hotline, as well as social media marketing. The 988 Lifeline hosts an Instagram account, for instance, that focuses upon raising awareness about the number; it doesn’t directly offer mental health support through that platform.

“I think it is just raising awareness and letting them know it's a safe resource to use,” Burch said. “A lot of families and kiddos don't know what happens when I use those resources.”

The hotline does ask people who text to agree to its terms of service, which include not harassing the counselors who provide assistance and reserving the right to alert authorities, like 911, about someone’s life being imminently at risk. Some concerns have been expressed nationally about the potential for law enforcement involvement in a mental health crisis, but typically that happens infrequently.

Brook Stockberger is a freelance journalist in Las Cruces who’s working with the Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative to cover important issues in the region. Diana Alba Soular is the project editor for the collaborative.