INTRODUCING: THE WL WELL 988 MUNICIPAL SUICIDE AND MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCY DISPATCH SYSTEM
In October 2020, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 [S.2661] went into effect. This bill formally assigned '988' as the National Mental Health (suicide) assistance number. Similar to '911' Americans have been using for decades, the 988 system is locally managed and integrated into State and Local emergency dispatch systems. But like MOST things, the wheels of government grind slowly, and municipalities had until July 16, 2022 to implement and launch their 988 systems. MOST municipalities, though given grants by the Federal Government to complete their systems, simply hired call centers to answer incoming calls, but did not invest nor improve their response and dispatch procedures. We Did.
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WL WELL has done the work for everyone by developing the 988 Municipal Suicide and Mental Health Emergency Dispatch System for in-person mental health related responses. Our dispatch system is comprehensive, unique, and but for city-specific requested modifications, ready for deployment in all 50 US States and Territories right now. Additionally, the WL WELL - MSMHDS working seamlessly with our Emergency Services Beacon (ESB), allowing for immediate mental health response that typically takes hours if not days.
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Lastly, our system is designed to answer the major "liability" problem that many municipalities have with deploying in-person mental health responders instead of Law Enforcement Officers. All 988 and ESB requests for in-person assistance are able to be routed to available Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officers through their Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) devices. This allows CIT members and ESPs to stage arrivals and/or ensure public safety and the safety of ESPs themselves are maintained while ensuring at all times that the ESP is in full command of the situation.
The WL WELL - 988 Municipal Suicide and Mental Health Emergency Dispatch System checks all of the boxes for every City, State, and Tribal Community's needs for a fully functioning suicide/mental health hotline and dispatch system that the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (NSHDA) demands. The National 988 number and corresponding system has launched. Cities quickly realized that their systems are insufficient. We can make them whole.