Washington state may boost 988 hotline funding as demand grows (Seattle: sales, how much)

[homesinseattle]

Article link here: https://crosscut.com/politics/2023/0...g-demand-grows

“Last summer, the federal government made access to suicide and crisis counseling much simpler by launching the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – a shorter version of the (still functional) 10-digit suicide prevention hotline.
Now, as awareness spreads, call centers are feeling pressure to keep up with the growing number of people seeking 24/7 behavioral health support by calling or texting 988 to have a confidential conversation with someone trained to help, free of charge.

“As CEO of this organization, finding the staff right now is the thing that keeps me up at night,” said Michelle McDaniel from Crisis Connections. Calls to 988 within King County are routed to Crisis Connections, a nonprofit call center based in Seattle that is one of three centers – alongside Volunteers of America and Frontier Behavioral Health – that provide mobile behavioral crisis services for people across the state.

How to call/text for help:

For those seeking help, the suicide prevention and crisis helpline is available 24 hours a day in English or Spanish by dialing or texting 988. The helpline, which can also be reached at 1-800-273-8255, also has the ability to translate services into 250 additional languages.

Veterans can reach specialized care by dialing 988, then pressing 1, or by texting 838255.
For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, teletypewriter users can use a preferred relay service, or dial 711, then 988.

To reach the Native and Strong lifeline, callers can dial 988, then press 4 to speak with a Native mental health professional.

According to McDaniel, Crisis Connections has experienced a 25%-30% increase in calls since the 988 hotline was implemented last July. With the increase in calls comes an increase in the need for fast, efficient mobile response teams equipped to meet the needs of individuals requiring urgent, in-person care.
State lawmakers are considering a proposal this session to boost funding for the 988 service. House Bill 1134 would add money to the budget to support rapid-response teams, provide more comprehensive training for responders, and put into motion a statewide marketing campaign”.

[Pomelo]

I do not understand why WA itemizes all these taxes. If they want to hit mobile phone users with a tax, just increase the sales tax. I currently have at least 8 different taxes listed on my phone bill.

[SusVelo]

Originally Posted by Pomelo

I do not understand why WA itemizes all these taxes. If they want to hit mobile phone users with a tax, just increase the sales tax. I currently have at least 8 different taxes listed on my phone bill.

If they do that then people will complain about lack of transparency on where the taxes are going.

[Pomelo]

Originally Posted by SusVelo

If they do that then people will complain about lack of transparency on where the taxes are going.

So? They can be told to go to the WA government website and find the budget. Just like 99% of all other government spending is not broken down on receipts when you buy things.

If anything, transparency types should be advocating for having a simpler taxes, which makes it easier to makes sure you are not getting fleeced by a seller. It is quick and easy to verify one or even two tax percentage on the WA government website, than look up 8 different taxes for 4 different levels of government on who knows how many websites.

This is what shows up on an ATT bill:

Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge
City Utility Users Surcharge
Federal Universal Service Charge
County 911 Service Fee
City District Sales Tax - Telecom
City Sales Tax - Telecom
State 911 Service Fee
WA 988 Tax
WA State Sales Tax - Telecom

Imagine how much of the country's productivity is going to keep track of things like this at every business. This kind of complexity is also advantageous for entrenched big businesses, and bad for small business.

[MechAndy]

I think itemizing for transparency is a good idea.