Ohio lawmakers work to fund 988 suicide prevention hotline

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• John Yang:

  Since its launch last July, 988 nationwide hotline for people experiencing a mental health crisis has received more than 2 million calls, texts, and chats. That's nearly a half million more than the old 10-digit suicide prevention hotline gotten during the same period in 2021.

  The launch got a big boost from the federal government, but stable future funding was always expected to come from the states. Right now, only 16 states have put in place either comprehensive or partial long-term funding.

  One of the states without funding right now, Ohio. Gail Pavliga is an Ohio State Representative, representing Portage County in the Cleveland, Akron, Canton area.

  Thanks for joining us. We heard the nationwide figures. Is the demand for 988 in Ohio similar?

  Gail Pavliga, (R) Ohio State Representative: Absolutely. We are seeing an uptick in calls and chats and connection. Mental health is a crisis here and around the country. And we're trying to, as a legislature and just as a caring community, be able to respond in a way that's going to be helpful.

• John Yang:

  I know you're a psychologist and a counselor. What do you see as the advantages of 988?

• Gail Pavliga:

  Well, first of all, the advantages of 988 is the fact that the number is easy to remember. You know, when someone is in crisis, they are not able to think about a 10- or 11-digit number to be able to call in to get help. 988 is designed to connect a person in crisis with a caring counselor that can help them in the moment and hopefully be able to resolve that issue right then and there.

• John Yang:

  You've got legislation that would create a permanent funding mechanism for 988 in Ohio. How important is it that get passed?

• Gail Pavliga:

  It's very important because if we want to be able to save lives and to be able to respond to people who are in need, we have to be able to continue to operate the system and continue to upgrade it, that it can include the chats and the text and be able to get that technology across the state. Right now, only a few of our call centers can receive the chats in the text, but all 19 call centers in the State of Ohio are able to take calls and respond to calls. And for that reason, we need to continue to upgrade our technology, our training, and our response.

• John Yang:

  I know your bill creates a fund for 988, but it would still rely on appropriations from the legislature. Other states have been using a 988 fee on cell phone bills. Why did you choose your mechanism rather than the fees?

• Gail Pavliga:

  Well, first of all, in the State of Ohio, many of our families and persons are already overburdened with inflation and other economic conditions. So, we wanted to be able to make this something that was a priority for our legislature, for Ohio. And our governor is an outspoken advocate for mental health. And we have just made this a priority as a legislature and as a state government and with our governor to keep it funded up and running and to be able to meet the needs of the people in distress here in Ohio.

• John Yang:

  Do you think the federal government should support this more, should put more money into this, so the states don't have to?

• Gail Pavliga:

  Absolutely. It was a federal mandate, and it came as an unfunded mandate to the states to be able to. So, we had to receive this legislation and to respond to it. And so, but — so far we have been able to fund it with, you know, recovery funds and other initiatives within the state. And we believe for the near future we will be able to continue to do that as well.

• John Yang:

  Your bill passed the House unanimously last session, ran out of time in the Senate. What are your hopes or what do you think are the prospects for this session?

• Gail Pavliga:

  I believe that we will be introducing — reintroducing the bill in the House as soon as the interested parties can all get together to make sure that the language that we introduced is what we want to be able to present to the committee and to the House. So, I believe that within the next month or so. We will get that bill finished up. And it will be ready to be heard again in the House and in the committee. And hopefully pass through the House. And this time we're hoping with time to be able to get it through the Senate. So, we're starting quite early.

• John Yang:

  Ohio Representative Gail Pavliga, thank you very much.

• Gail Pavliga:

  Thank you for having me. And thank you for drawing such close attention to this great need for prevention of suicide and for a person to help another individual when they are in distress and be able to meet them at their time of need.