Human beings might be the smartest species to ever walk the earth, but that hasn’t kept them from making a mistake time and time again. Now, there is no denying how some of these mistakes actually go on to teach us a lot, but we must also acknowledge the ones that have shown to trigger irreparable damage in our lives. The latter category will, in fact, force us to look for some sort of a defensive cover, and to our credit, we will find that exact cover once we bring dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. You see, having a well-defined governing authority within each and every sector was a game-changer, as it instantly concealed a lot of our mistakes. However, the whole utopia will come to a rather abrupt end as soon as technology takes over the scene. Technology seems so detrimental in the stated context because its layered nature literally made us more vulnerable than ever before, therefore giving other people a chance to exploit us for their own benefit. Such a volatile reality nullified our entire progress, but fortunately enough, this won’t be the last power shit we’ll see in our lifetime. The regulatory industry will make a comeback, and it will do so by turning technology into an ally. The move expanded their reach beyond every boundary, and honestly, it is still adding to the picture under one capacity or the other. To contextualize the statement, you only have to look at an upcoming launch.
The US authorities have formally launched a Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is actually a new iteration of the older National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. According to certain reports, the helpline will connect people in need with mental health counselors 24 hours a day, as well as seven days a week. Deemed as the “911” for suicide prevention and mental healthcare, it will work on the back of over 200 local call centers, and if all the centers are busy at a given time, the caller will be redirected to a national backup center. The vision here is to significantly reduce the amount of crisis calls that go to 911, and consequentially, cut back on the timeframe usually exhausted to get these people help. Talk about when the idea of a dedicated mental health helpline started to shape up, Congress, in 2018, directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs on creating a three-digit code. In 2020, FCC voted to finalize “988” as the number people can call to avail support, and just a year later, they introduced the option of texting as well.
“If you are willing to turn to someone in your moment of crisis, 988 will be there. 988 won’t be a busy signal, and 988 won’t put you on hold. You will get help,” Xavier Becerra, Health and Human Services Secretary. “That is the aspiration. And it doesn’t happen overnight.”
