[Mina] 988 is the suicide and crisis lifeline.
Our purpose is to be an option outside of
law enforcement and the police, for people who
really just need help.
Confidentiality is a big concern for our callers.
It's just me.
And sometimes there's a clinical team member present listening
in on the call as well to give me support so I can best help the caller.
[Jackie] If someone was
concerned about confidentiality,
I would let them know that
all the information provided
is what they tell us directly. We'll never, like, pressure
you to tell us any information that you don't want to share.
And we'll never, like, dive deeper on a certain subject
unless you want to.
[Kimberly] Because 988 is anonymous
I only know what you tell me,
and I believe everything you tell me,
you know?
I don't know your name unless you tell me your name.
What I tell my chatters, when they reach out
and they're concerned about, “You're going to call 911 on me right away.”
That's not my goal.
My goal is to avoid that.
My goal is to work with you on making a plan together
for how you can cope with what you're going through.
[Mina] the only reason the police would be notified is if there is an imminent safety
concern that we could not safety plan around.
Thoughts are not reason alone for us to call 911.
It's a team effort when we're focusing on safety planning;
what is within your capacity right now
to do for yourself as an act of care and as an act of love?
And that's what I like to ask people, you know,
what can you do right now as an act of love for yourself?
[Kimberly] What I would want potential help seekers to know is that we care.
Every person I work with cares immensely about you
and your wellbeing and your mental health and your physical health,
and you having all your needs met, and you being a happy,
thriving person who's not just in a state of survival.
We care about that. We care about you.