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Northwest Human Services explains 988 crisis hotline operations and local outreach
Summary
A Northwest Human Services manager explained how the national 988 lifeline routes calls, the types of crises centers field, and local outreach challenges in Polk County, including rising call volume and georouting changes.
Maggie Walker, a project manager at Northwest Human Services, told Polk County public safety partners that the 988 national crisis line routes callers to trained crisis counselors across a coordinated Lifeline network and emphasized local outreach to increase use in rural areas.
Walker said the Lifeline network has more than 200 crisis centers in the U.S. and its territories and that callers can reach crisis counselors by calling, texting or using an online chat. "The crisis and information hotline at Northwest Human Services has existed since 1970. We've been in operation 24/7, 365 since then," she said.
Walker said the center joined the Lifeline network in 2018 and that, in 2024, her center fielded more than 6,000 calls routed through 988 in addition to calls to the longer-standing 10‑digit line. She described common call types as suicidal ideation and general mental‑health concerns, loneliness, family and…
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