By Rep. Mary Ann Shallcross Smith
In 2024, 406 Rhode Island teenagers were admitted to emergency rooms after attempting suicide. In the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 9% of high school students said they had attempted suicide at least once. Both figures appear in the 2026 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook.
Behind every one of those numbers is a young person, a frightened family, and a moment when someone believed there was nowhere left to turn.
And crisis is not limited to the young. It can be a senior citizen living alone and sinking into depression. It can be a veteran who can’t sleep, a parent buried in debt, a new mother overwhelmed, or a worker who has just lost a job. A mental health crisis does not announce itself, and it does not keep business hours.
Rhode Island has not looked away. Counselors, therapists, schools, health care providers and state agencies are working to connect people in crisis with help. But good intentions don’t answer a phone at 3 a.m. Services do, and services have to be paid for.
In 2022, I introduced legislation to create a cornerstone of our crisis response system: the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. With the support of advocates and my colleagues in the General Assembly, the idea became part of the state budget, which dedicated $1.9 million in federal State Fiscal Recovery funds to the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals to launch it.
It worked. Today, any Rhode Islander in crisis can call or text 988 and reach a trained counselor. Last year, the state went further and required the number on student ID cards, putting it directly in the hands of the young people who may need it most.
That reach matters in the hardest moments, including after tragedies like the shootings at Brown University and the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket. But 988 is just as vital on the quiet days no one reports on, when one person is struggling alone and reaches out.
A lifeline built on one-time money has an expiration date.
That is why I introduced the 988 Call Center Funding and Operations Act. It would establish a dedicated account for the call center and a reliable, recurring source of funding, so the service no longer depends on temporary dollars. I will reintroduce it in the coming session, because a service this vital should not have to compete for survival in every budget cycle.
This is not about keeping a phone number alive. It is about guaranteeing that a person at their lowest moment reaches someone who will listen, help, and guide them toward care. A crisis doesn’t wait for a convenient time or a favorable budget.
We cannot prevent every tragedy. But we can make sure that when someone reaches out, someone answers.
Rhode Island made the commitment to launch 988. Now we must make the commitment to sustain it.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 any time, day or night. You don’t have to face it alone.
Mary Ann Shallcross Smith is a state representative from District 46, representing Lincoln and Pawtucket. She lives in Lincoln.
The post Op-ed: 988 saves lives. Rhode Island can’t let it run out of money. appeared first on What's Up Newp.
