Lines for Life hosts 30th annual fundraiser for 988 lifeline services

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - It’s an easy way to get help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“This three-digit is going to have a caring response as opposed to a scaring response,” founding Director of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, Dr. John Draper, said.

The 988 Lifeline and text line launched nationally in July 2022, with the hope it’ll be an easier number to remember and decrease the stigma associated with asking for help when you’re dealing with a mental health crisis.

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“While that’s encouraging that we’re reaching more people there’s so many more people we’re not reaching,” Draper said.

To continue this work, Lines for Life raising money at their 30th annual Always Hope Gala, to fund the services their call center in Portland provides, as House Bill 2757 aims to fund centers across Oregon for years to come.

“That would create a 50-cent fee on cell phones, much smaller than the 911 fee that we all pay whether we know it or not to give long-term stable funding to 988 work,” Dwight Holton, the CEO of Lines for Life, said.

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