988 Administrator Vibrant Emotional Health Welcomes President Biden’s Budget Proposal for Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and Mental Health
NEW YORK (March 9, 2023) – The Biden Administration today released its FY2024 budget proposal, which requests over $830 million in total federal funding for the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Behavioral Health Services program for the 2024 fiscal year. The proposed budget includes funding that supports Vibrant Emotional Health’s (Vibrant’s) work to continue administering the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This crucial work by Vibrant involves administering network operations and technology, training for and communications with 988 Lifeline network crisis centers and staff, and coordinating operations with SAMHSA. As the administrator of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline since its inception in 2005 (formerly named the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), and other crucial mental health services and programs, Vibrant Emotional Health thanks the President for including this federal funding to deliver on its mission to help families and individuals achieve mental and emotional wellbeing.
“The need for accessible, quality mental health services is greater than ever, and President Biden’s budget proposal demonstrates a keen awareness of how important these services are,” said Kimberly Williams, President and CEO of Vibrant Emotional Health. “This request continues the strong support for 988 by both the Administration and Congress since its inception two years ago. We are excited to continue working with our federal, state, and local government partners to deliver fast, reliable, and effective access to emotional support and crisis counseling to those who need it through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.”
“Vibrant is grateful for President Biden’s prioritization of mental health and the Congressional support for funding mental health services, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline,” said Laura Evans, Director of National and State Policy at Vibrant Emotional Health. “We applaud the strong bipartisan effort to provide necessary funding for this vital service. We hope to see more states implement sustainable funding mechanisms that the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act envisioned, which will be necessary to support critical mental health interventions across the entire crisis continuum for years to come.”
For over 50 years, Vibrant’s groundbreaking solutions have delivered high-quality services and support, when, where and how people need it. The organization offers confidential emotional support through its state-of-the-art contact center and crisis hotline services that use leading edge telephone, text and web-based technologies, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Disaster Distress Helpline, and NYC Well, among others.
The 988 Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support and crisis counseling to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States. Vibrant was the lead partner in the transition to 988 last year and is seeing a historic increase in the number of Americans accessing the system.
Media Contact: Hannah Collins, [email protected]
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