Clear Lake Police Department vehicles to display 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline information

CLEAR LAKE — The Clear Lake Police Department is adding the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number to all of their marked patrol cars.

Chief Mike Colby says his department is the first agency to display the 988 resources in north-central Iowa along with being one of the first in the state to do so.  “You’ll start seeing a little bit of a change to our patrol cars. We’ve taken a look at some of the things that go on in our nation and what we could do. Not all people are aware that back in 2022, the National Suicide hotline changed their number from an 800 number to just 988, very similar to 911.”

Colby says after looking for ways to share the availability and encourage use of the hotline, he authorized it being put on the patrol car fleet. “So it’s a suicide and crisis lifeline. We’re going to try and publicize that a little bit as a resource for those that are in crisis to where they may be able to get in touch with a social worker, a mental health worker, to get some extra resources when law enforcement is not needed to. So we’re going to put that on the back of the cars there.”

Anyone can contact 988 24/7 by calling, or texting to access a trained crisis counselor who can help people experiencing suicidal, substance use, and/or mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. You may also contact 988 if you know of someone that may need assistance with a crisis.