The death of Camila Olmos prompted an uptick in calls to mental health centers. But funding questions are leaving the future of Texas 988 crisis lines in jeopardy.
SAN ANTONIO — It has been a week since the death of 19-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos was ruled a suicide, emphasizing the importance of mental health resources in South Texas.
Following her death, local mental health centers received an increase in calls. But funding questions are leaving the future of Texas 988 call centers in jeopardy.
There are five 988 call centers in Texas and between two grants, it costs $19 million to have local crisis intervention specialists take our calls.
Federal funding for the National Suicide and Crisis Intervention Hotline expires this year. One of the grants costing almost $11 million will expire in September.
If the state doesn’t provide its own funding, jobs will be cut and partnerships to local mental health organizations like the National Alliance of Mental Illness San Antonio (NAMI) will be lost.
“If that number were to disappear, we go back to probably what we had before which is people calling 911, which is for any emergency,” said NAMI San Antonio Executive Director Doug Beach. “Part of the purpose of establishing 988 was to separate out those calls that were distinctly mental health related so that they could be directed to the right kind of response.”
NAMI San Antonio works outside of 988 when a caller is not in a crisis or immediate danger.
Advocates say if 988 is gone, the calls that go to invention specialists at the call center in Austin won’t be able to provide help to long-term solutions.
In the summer, Senator Jose Menendez was a primary sponsor to establish the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Trust Fund.
Even though it is set up for donors to contribute to the fund, Menendez says the state has yet to do this.
“There’s a lot of things that the state puts dollars towards that aren’t actually saving lives like this lifeline to us,” said Menendez. “So that’s what I’m hoping to do, I’m hoping that maybe next session we can find the appropriate source of revenue for this.”
If you’re in a crisis, call 988 or the NAMI Warm Line at 210-939-9999 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.