A new, much larger 988 crisis call center opened its doors in Fairfield, Ohio, growing from a 10-person operation in Hamilton to a 43-consultant team now serving five counties across the region. The facility fielded more than 18,000 calls in the past year alone, reflecting a surge in demand for crisis support that has strained similar centers statewide and nationally.
The Community Health Alliance opened its new 988 Crisis Call Center on Symmes Road in Fairfield on Wednesday evening, according to WLWT. The new facility supports behavioral health and crisis response services across Butler County, the station reports. A ceremony in Fairfield celebrated the launch of the expanded center, which now covers Butler, Warren, Clermont, Preble and Montgomery counties, according to FOX19.
The jump in staffing tells its own story. The first center opened in Hamilton with just 10 people, and now 43 crisis consultants work out of the new, state-of-the-art space, per the same report. Scott Gehring, president and CEO of Talbert House and Community Health Alliance, said the previous center had rapidly outgrown its space.
A Local Voice Behind a National Number
988 functions as a national suicide and crisis lifeline, but the calls that come in are answered locally — a distinction officials in Fairfield say matters. Shane Joseph, the 988 crisis director, said local assistance is best provided by someone from the caller's own community rather than someone out of state. Joseph added that each call is viewed as a potential life saved.
Support through 988 is free and available 24/7 to anyone facing mental health struggles, emotional distress or a substance use crisis, and people needing help can reach it by calling or texting. Gehring said people are becoming more self-aware of their individual needs, making supportive services increasingly important.
Among the Busiest Centers in Ohio
The Fairfield center is described as one of Ohio's busiest among the state's 19 crisis call centers, having taken more than 18,000 calls this past year alone. That volume fits a broader pattern: nationally, the 988 Lifeline had been contacted more than 18 million times since its July 2022 launch, with contact volume nearly doubling since the service began, according to the outlet AJMC.
That growing demand has not come without strain. AJMC's reporting found only 29% of surveyed 988 centers nationwide reported being fully staffed, with 89% of centers citing difficulty acquiring resources to hire staff, 87% struggling to staff for their contact volume, 81% facing recruitment difficulties and 79% facing retention problems. Nationally, the picture has improved in some respects — answer rates climbed from 70% in May 2022 to 89% by May 2024, while average wait times fell from two minutes and 20 seconds to one minute and 31 seconds, according to KFF. KFF also reported that 988 had logged 10.8 million calls, texts and chats nationwide through May 2024.
Ohio's Broader Push for Crisis Care
Fairfield's expansion is part of a wider state effort to shore up behavioral health infrastructure. Ohio has put $90 million in COVID-relief funds toward new behavioral health crisis facilities across the state, and 75 of Ohio's 88 counties face a shortage of mental health care providers, according to WOUB. The state also announced an $18 million scholarship and internship program aimed at graduate students pursuing behavioral health degrees, the outlet reports.
Not every new facility has opened smoothly. The James Hagen Crisis Care Center in Chillicothe opened in July with an eight-bed crisis stabilization unit, WOUB notes, but the Coleman Health Services Behavioral Health Urgent Care in St. Clairsville had not admitted any patients four months after opening, still awaiting licensure and facing hiring challenges. Staffing levels vary widely among crisis centers nationwide — a survey of 159 centers across 47 U.S. states and territories found staffing ranging from just one to 309 counselors per center, with a mean of 34, per AJMC's reporting.
For now, Fairfield's expanded center stands as one example of the investment states are making to meet rising need. Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, emotional distress or substance use crisis can reach 988 anytime by calling or texting the number.
