Governor Laura Kelly signed Bipartisan Legislation, Senate Bill 19, creating the State’s Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline and Behavioral Health Intervention teams. The 988 hotline will be available 24 hours a day/7 days a week to Kansans needing mental health emergency services.
The Bill was championed by U. S. Senator Jerry Moran, who introduced the Bill to the U. S. Senate last year. The previous hotline number was 10 digits long and lawmakers feared it was stopping many people, including veterans, from getting the care they needed immediately.
After passing through both Houses of the Nations Legislature, it went to the States. The motion passed both Houses in Kansas unanimously. The new hotline will officially launch on July 16th.
