The 988 suicide and crisis hotline has transformed the way Georgians access emergency mental health care since launching in 2022, and the state is building on that by observing Sept. 8 as “988 Day″ to further raise awareness.

But Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kevin Tanner says Georgians don’t have to be in crisis to call.

“It can be for someone who’s in crisis, but it can also be for someone who maybe is just looking how to access community services,” Tanner said on Monday’s episode of ‘Politically Georgia.’

The hotline averages 200,000 calls a year in Georgia alone, and awareness for the hotline continues to rise, Tanner said.

“In 2023, only 16 % of Georgians had heard of 988 , which was a pretty low number. But in a survey we di

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