UC San Diego

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched nationwide on July 16, 2022, marking a shift in the accessibility and provision of crisis services in the United States. The 988 line ideally serves as both an intervention and an entry point to a continuum of care. Community-based mobile crisis teams, capable of quickly responding to individuals in need, serve as the next step in a continuum approach, their development paralleling that of emergency medical services established 50 years ago with emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and ambulances. Mobile crisis response has great promise for providing targeted and clinically appropriate assessment and care, decreasing utilization of more restrictive and expensive levels of care, and reducing reliance on police for psychiatric intervention.