Since the sign was installed, 988 calls have increased in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Since the beginning of 2024, more than 1,500 people in Baton Rouge have accessed 988 for suicide and crisis calls. Following efforts to promote the lifeline in East Baton Rouge Parish, 988 is gaining much more attention, especially on EBR. That’s according to Sherrard Crespo, vice president of external affairs for VIA LINK, the nonprofit that answers 988 calls in southern parishes.

“We don’t have plans, we don’t have scripts, we don’t even have a time limit, we are only ready for what the interviewer needs,” says Crespo.

Their team consists of approximately 40 specialists trained in answering calls. Crespo answered the calls herself and says she has received more than 200 hours of training. Crespo says even though it’s a national organization, the best part is that everyone who answers the phone when someone calls 988 lives in Louisiana.

“We have a really high state-level response rate and really low wait times, which is amazing – because you really want to talk to local people, we have the jargon, you know you’re going to get some answers when you talk and things like that – and we know what’s going on.” – says Crespo.

Crespo says it’s common to see an increase in call volumes this time of year. This is because seasonal affective disorder begins to affect many people in late October, and the holidays can be a major stressor for many families.

“Even things like, ‘I’m trying to support my family during the holidays, we want to have enough gifts, we want to have food,’ we try to keep our resources on things like toy drives and things like that so we can provide them to callers,” Crespo says .

The specialists at the 988 call center are available even if you just need to vent, but Crespo says they also have all the resources you need. All information you share with them is completely confidential, unless you or someone else is at immediate risk of harm or violence.

You can also take a look at 988 dashboard which shows aggregate data retrieved from each connection. You can see where calls are coming from, for what reasons, when and what their demographic information is. Anyone calling 988 is not required to provide any personally identifiable information.

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