The 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline celebrated its first birthday this week. Since July 2022, Alabamians sent more than 45,000 contacts used the free service via text, chat, or phone.

988 is part of a growing, statewide crisis system of care as part of “a renewed commitment to mental health and an interest in trying to address mental health in Alabama,” according to Kim Boswell, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH).

There are currently four physical crisis centers in Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville and Birmingham. These centers treated more than 2,000 people in 2022, according to data provided by ADMH. Although 988 is statewide, these centers cover only 16 of the 67 counties. A bill to increase the number of centers didn’t pass this legislative session. Still, Boswell is positive that this initiative is important to every Alabamian and “started a conversation” about mental health.

“We feel like there’s a ton of support for the issue,” Boswell said. She’s especially encouraged by the work done through groups like the Black Women’s Mental Health Institute (BWMHI). Boswell spoke at BWMHI’s Mental Health Equity and Liberation Summit last week as part of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Mental Health Awareness Month.

She noted that poverty disproportionately affects Black and brown communities and that many people can’t afford to pay for services out of pocket. The continued goal of ADMH is to work with “trusted leaders” in communities of color, such as faith leaders.

One faith-based program is the Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), a free,16-hour training program open to leaders of all religions to learn more about how to approach the issue of substance use disorders.

Rev. Byron Jackson is leading this program and said participants have been thrilled with what they’ve learned.

“We want (ASAP) to spark a fire that continues to burn, even after we’ve left that area,” Jackson said. “So the ultimate goal of the training conference is to certify and equip and educate but to train them also on how to build their own coalition. So even after we leave, they can form their own group.”

They’ve had trainings in Huntsville, Oxford, Montgomery, and Mobile so far and hope to reach 240 faith leaders. Because of the stigma surrounding mental health treatment, Boswell and Jackson said that programs like ASAP are needed to reach marginalized populations.

Along with brick-and-mortar crisis centers, which are expanding this year, mobile crisis counselors are available to deploy, especially if law enforcement is involved.

“We really are very interested in decoupling policing from a mental health crisis,” Boswell said. She said instead of potentially having a negative experience with law enforcement, crisis counselors could treat those dangerous to themselves or others.

Coalitions are the key to expanding mental health in Alabama, Boswell said.

“I will say, I feel like we could be doing more in the community,” Boswell said. “And I think that’s really about developing partnerships.”

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Al.com reporter Ramsey Archibald contributed the infographic to this report.