Lived‑experience presenters urge system changes after testimony about policing, weaponization and safety risks in 988 responses

Jay Worley, a lived‑experience advocate, told the CRIS Committee that people on the autism and developmental spectrum face particular risks when calling crisis lines. Drawing on personal experience, Worley described how calls can trigger police co‑response in some jurisdictions, how records of crisis calls can be used in court and how the system can be weaponized against vulnerable people. "In Pierce County, it is a co responding area... every call to 988 is an opportunity to be nonconsensually incarcerated," Worley said.