In 2020, Congress designated a new number to be operated through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline—988. The Lifeline completed the transition in July 2022. The 988 Lifeline was established to improve the accessibility of crisis services and to meet our growing mental health-related crisis needs. Local Kansas City leaders and mental health experts are joining together on January 10 for Mental Health Matters: A 988 Symposium to discuss how Missouri has been impacted by the mental health crisis and consider potential interventions. Former Missouri representative Jason Kander will moderate the roundtable and include opening remarks by Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Mental health and wellness are increasingly important issues for the Kansas City metro area. A recent report from Mental Health America found nine percent of Kansas youth had a substance use disorder, which is more than any other state. The same report found over a quarter of adults had a mental illness and over six percent had serious thoughts of suicide, both far above the national average. In 2021 and 2022, the U.S. had one death by suicide about every 11 minutes nationwide, making suicide the second-leading cause of death for people aged between 10 to 14 and 25 to 34.
Included in the roundtable discussion will be Kristin Feeback, the CEO of CommCare, Shannon Moss, clinical director of ReDiscover, Ashley McCunniff, Department of Crisis Intervention Team sergeant for the KCPD, and Emily Snow, senior administrative director of behavioral health at Children’s Mercy Hospital.