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State 988 lead details South Carolina marketing, crisis continuum and school ID requirement
Summary
Jessica Barnes, state lead for 988 at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, presented statewide marketing and crisis‑continuum efforts, including coordination of two call centers, mobile crisis response and crisis stabilization units and a student‑ID requirement for grades seven and up.
Jessica (Jesse) Barnes, state 988 lead at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health Office of Suicide Prevention, briefed the committee on statewide 988 outreach, how the two state call centers are coordinated, and the broader crisis continuum linking calls to mobile response and crisis stabilization units.
"I am the state lead for 9 8 8. So what that means is I help coordinate the 2 call centers," Barnes said, noting Charleston‑Dorchester Mental Health Center and a Greenville‑area center (named in the presentation) answer 988 calls routed for the state. She said the state has deliberately paced marketing since 988's 2022 launch to avoid overwhelming call centers while workforce capacity increased.
Barnes described marketing activity that included a radio and banner campaign (November–April 2024), bus and bus‑shelter ads rolled out in December, distribution of about 250 standing banners to schools, hospitals and public sites, and plans for billboard ads and high‑school outreach at sporting events. She said the marketing work is funded by a three‑year SAMHSA grant that runs through about September 2026 and that the office follows SAMHSA's partner toolkit for logos, colors and materials.
Barnes emphasized the "988 crisis continuum": the lifeline call, local mobile crisis teams as the responding resource, and crisis stabilization units as a safe place to go. She said Charleston already has a crisis stabilization unit and the Midlands area is developing one.
Barnes also described a state requirement that new student IDs for grades seven and older include the 988 lifeline and at least one other crisis number; the requirement went into effect in July 2022, she said. The office is discussing options to help schools and families update older IDs and to distribute stickers where needed.
Jonathan Kessler, representing VA suicide‑prevention efforts in the Tri‑County area, said option 1 on 988 connects veterans and service members to veteran‑specific support and that outreach to veteran families and military‑connected schools remains a priority. "We just can't get the word out strong enough," he said, describing local tabling and community outreach that has produced testimonials from callers.
Barnes offered training resources (online gatekeeper training and longer in‑person training) and said printed flyers, wallet cards and PDF resources are available on request; she offered to mail materials to committee members and local partners.
No formal actions or votes were taken on 988 at this meeting.
