The Problem with 988:
How America’s Largest Hotline Violates Consent, Compromises Safety, and Fails the People
October 10, 2024
This report critically examines the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, revealing how policies intended for crisis support often compromise safety, privacy, and autonomy. Topics include non-consensual emergency interventions, police involvement, forced hospitalization, privacy violations, and the unique harms faced by marginalized groups. Through original research and lived experiences of help-seekers, we provide a comprehensive analysis of how crisis hotlines operate today and offer recommendations for consent-based, life-affirming crisis care.
Key findings cover non-consensual interventions, police collaboration, and help-seeker privacy. The report also calls for policy changes to prioritize informed consent and better crisis care investment.
(Contains only the report text. PDF, 64 pages, 23 MB)
(Contains only the report glossary, citations, and appendices. PDF, 45 pages, 5.6 MB)
Download the full report (Contains the report text and supplementary information. PDF, 108 pages, 27.2 MB)
Recorded on October 10, 2024.