The past few years have created an epidemic of mental anguish.

The World Health Organization states that the "prevalence of depression and anxiety have increased by 25 percent" since COVID-19 emerged. Fatal substance abuse keeps breaking records in the U.S. and the tri-state area. And while suicide technically declined nationwide during the first year of the pandemic, self-harm is still a leading cause of injury and death — with 46,000 fatalities in 2020.

Starting Saturday, people in crisis will have a new way to reach out for help. The national 988 mental health crisis number is rolling out as a lifeline for people who need emergency counseling.

But access to the hotline’s services may be limited in some places.

The federal government provided a huge sum – $400 million — to help local governments build out the call centers. Places like New York and New Jersey also added millions of dollars through their fiscal budgets. Other states haven’t added this backing, which means their residents’ calls could be rerouted here.

WNYC host Tiffany Hansen spoke with Jonathan Purtle, a health policy professor at New York University and director of policy research at their Global Center for Implementation Science. He has studied how call center support for 988’s predecessor — the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline — has varied state-to-state.