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NC officials mark second anniversary of 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are marking the second anniversary of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

The lifeline transitioned from a ten-digit phone number to 988 in July 2022. The number connects users with trained counselors who offer crisis support and provide access to community-based resources.

In those two years, crisis counselors in North Carolina have responded to nearly 190,000 calls, texts, and chats. According to a news release, the number of residents who contacted 988 each month nearly doubled in its second year of service.

Since 988 made its debut, chat and text options in Spanish have been added, along with specialized services for veterans and LGBTQ+ people. And a dashboard has been incorporated allowing officials to monitor how 988 is being used.

Earlier this week, NCDHHS officials toured a 988 call center in Greenville to show appreciation to the crisis counselors.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available around the clock, seven days a week.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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