The average wait time to speak to a counselor also fell – from close to 3 minutes in November 2021, to 36 seconds last November.Additional funding approved in the most recent federal spending bill "is going to allow us to create a formal and permanent sub-network from this pilot," adds Williams.In November, the state of Washington launched the Native and Strong Lifeline, the first suicide crisis line for American Indian and Alaska Natives in the state, as part of the national 988 network."I'm appreciative that there is a space that you can reach out to 24/7 for everyone, and especially marginalized communities that even struggle sometimes even talking with other people face-to-face about just what they're holding and the pain that they're carrying," Gutierrez says."The fact that you can be anonymous, and call in and you can have these conversations is really, really important," says Timothy Jansen, CEO of Crisis Community Services Inc, in Hyattsville, MD, which is part of the 988 network and has served as a regional backup center for Vibrant Emotional Health."