美国国家公共电台 NPR--Officials scramble to hire for the 988 mental health crisis hotline

Officials scramble¹ to hire for the 988 mental health crisis hotline

Transcript²

Preparations to roll out the 988 mental health crisis hotline are in full swing but call centers are scrambling³ to hire enough people and some states may not be able to handle the volume.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

A new national mental health crisis number, the three-digit number 988, is rolling out this month. But some states may have a hard time keeping up with call volume. Now, as a caution, this story mentions suicide. Side Effects Public Media's Carter Barrett reports.

CARTER BARRETT: The new 988 crisis line has been billed as 911 for mental health. It's a vast expansion of the long-underfunded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. Advocates hope it will ease the burden on police and emergency rooms during a mental health crisis and also help reduce stigma⁴ around mental illness. In Springfield, Ill., Memorial Behavioral Health serves as part of the crisis line network. Staff are on call around the clock to talk to people struggling with suicidal thoughts, drug addiction⁵ or mental health crises. Director Diana Knaebe says, for years, the call center was staffed by nurses who also had to care for patients.

DIANA KNAEBE: So that staff would answer the phone 24/7. But if they were busy with intakes⁶ or with residents in the facility, issues there, then they wouldn't be available to take the call.

BARRETT: Knaebe says they only recently switched to have staff members dedicated⁷ to take calls and were able to answer 80% of them versus⁸ 20%. That 20% follows statewide trends. During the first three months of 2022, Illinois-based call centers answered just 1 in 5 of all calls to the National Lifeline coming from people in state. The other 80% were redirected to other states or the National Center. And Texas, the next-worst state, answered only 40% of its calls. Underinvestment has plagued Illinois crisis centers for years, leaving them at a disadvantage in preparing them to launch 988. Andy Wade⁹ runs the Illinois chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI.

ANDY WADE: You know, you're building on the platform of the suicide prevention line, which is a logical starting point, but that's been under-resourced in Illinois for so long that just ramping¹⁰ that up alone is far from sufficient.

BARRETT: The goal in Illinois is to improve the in-state response rate to 90% within the next year. Call centers across the country are facing similar challenges - staffing call centers with enough qualified¹¹ counselors¹³ and finding a sustainable funding source. And this comes as a federal report predicts that call volume could soar over the next few years. Here's Rachel Bhagwat with NAMI's Chicago office.

RACHEL BHAGWAT: Ideally, we want people to call it, but we do worry that we're going to roll out this number, we're going to make it easier for people to call, and there's going to be no one on the other side of the phone.

BARRETT: John Draper heads the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. While, ideally, calls are answered in state, he says the national call center is ready to manage overflow¹⁴.

JOHN DRAPER: I can't promise that no one is going to have any wait at all. I can certainly say that if you hold on, you're going to get answered, and you're going to be answered by a counselor¹² that cares about your situation.

BARRETT: Draper says while preparedness for 988 varies by state, he's encouraged by the progress, though a majority of states still lack a dedicated long-term funding source for 988, raising concerns about sustainability of this ambitious national mental health phone number.

For NPR News, I'm Carter Barrett.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTINEZ: If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or text HOME to 741741. This story is part of the Carter Center's Mental Health Parity¹⁵ Collaborative, produced in partnership¹⁶ with the Center for Public Integrity.

1 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

5 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

6 intakes   

吸入( intake的名词复数 )； （液体等）进入口； （一定时期内）进入或纳入的人数； （采煤）进风巷道

参考例句：

• The Tornado jet fighter-bomber has two air intakes. 旋风式喷气轰炸机有两个空气入口。
• The air intakes to the carburetors were filling up with freezing snow. 汽化器的进气道被积雪封住了。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

9 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

10 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

11 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

12 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

13 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

14 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

15 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

16 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。