A new poll from High Point University finds that less than one in four North Carolina residents are aware of the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline.
Calling or texting 988 is a way for people in crisis to get personal and confidential support. But three years after it launched, a poll from HPU’s Survey Research Center finds that nearly 70 percent of respondents said they hadn’t heard of the service.
Sonyia Richardson, a suicide prevention researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says she’s concerned that the awareness is so low.
She says there have been campaigns to boost awareness of 988, including an effort focused on schools that may contribute to higher usage among teenagers.
“That potentially could be a model for getting the word out to maybe our adult population, such as churches or maybe grocery stores and things like that," she says. "So I think we have to really think a little bit more creatively about how to reach all populations.”
Richardson says a higher awareness of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in North Carolina would likely save lives.