A new national study highlights only about a third of people with serious distress who used the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline would “very likely” use it again. But, local mental health experts feel that’s not a fair representation of Minnesota’s 988 system.

The study shared by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) involved about 5,000 people. Among them, 388 said they had serious distress and 23 reached out to the 988 Lifeline, but only seven said they were “very likely to use it in the future.”

Since rolling out in July 2022, tens of thousands of Minnesotans have reached out to the 988 Lifeline — and from what local mental health experts have heard, Minnesota’s 988 system has been going well.

“We don’t want people to say that, ‘I shouldn’t call 988,’” Sue Abderholden, executive director for Minnesota’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), said.

“It’s not fair to [the 988] system that’s new and being developed. And, many, many people were helped by 988 and we can’t forget that,” Abderholden added.

JAMA noted the study did have limitations, especially pointing to the small sample size, writing, “these results may not be generalizable to all US adults.”

As for what makes Minnesota’s 988 stand out against other states, NAMI pointed to a couple of things – one being the telecom fee lawmakers approved last legislative session. That will fund 988, similar to how 911 is, providing steady funding and allowing 988 centers in the state to open their text lines.

The second is having mobile crisis teams, making sure the proper people respond to people in need.

“People received a really good response,” Abderholden said about the people she’s heard from who have reached out to 988. “They felt they were listened to, that the person on the other end of the phone was, you know, empathetic and compassionate, and really helped connect them to resources.”

Click here for information on how the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can help.