WellSpace Health was founded on the belief that behavioral healthcare should be accessible to everyone, especially during life’s most difficult moments. Today, that commitment is reflected in our work operating California’s second-largest 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, providing free, confidential behavioral health crisis support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Through phone calls, text messages and online chat, our crisis response counselors serve residents across 30 California counties, handling an estimated 150,000 contacts each year. For individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, emotional distress or thoughts of suicide, 988 provides a critical connection to compassionate, trained professionals who can offer immediate support and help connect them with appropriate care.
Since the nationwide launch of 988 in 2022, demand for these services has steadily increased, underscoring both the importance of the lifeline and the growing need for resources to sustain and strengthen the system. As more people turn to 988 for help, ensuring adequate funding, staffing and infrastructure is essential to maintaining timely access to care and meeting the needs of communities across California.
Recognizing this need, Rep. Doris Matsui, alongside 11 fellow members of Congress, introduced federal legislation aimed at strengthening federal funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The legislation represents an important step toward ensuring crisis response services can meet the growing demand and provide reliable support to people when they need it most.
On September 8 – 988 Day – WellSpace Health joined Rep. Matsui at the future site of our new 988 call center to announce the legislation and share how it will benefit us locally. The new call center represents an important investment in the infrastructure needed to support crisis counselors, expand capacity and help ensure individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis can reach someone who is ready to listen and help.
We are grateful to Rep. Matsui for her dedicated leadership and for recognizing that the effectiveness of 988 depends on more than a number. It requires a strong, adequately funded, connected system of community-based services and pathways to ongoing behavioral healthcare.