A Maryland nonprofit that has served for four years as the national backup center for 988 text and chat messages is laying off 62 employees after its federal contract was not renewed, and Howard County has approved emergency funding to blunt the fallout.
Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, based in Columbia, notified Maryland labor officials last week that the cuts take effect on September 29. The organization learned that its $5.7 million backup contract would not continue, ending a function that most people who have used 988 have never heard of, but many have depended on.
The most important fact for anyone in crisis is that 988 itself continues to operate. The line is reachable by call, text, and chat, and this change affects one layer of the national routing system, not the service's availability.
The Backup Layer, and the Job It Performs
When a person contacts 988 by chat or text, the message is routed to a local crisis center. If the volume is high enough that the local center cannot respond promptly, the message overflows to a national backup center. Grassroots has performed that function for people across the United States and its territories, answering more than 140,000 chats and texts over four years.
Text and chat volume have grown quickly since the three-digit code launched, particularly among younger users who prefer not to speak aloud during a crisis. The backup layer exists because crisis contacts are not evenly distributed across the day or the country. A local center can be overwhelmed for an hour on a Tuesday night, and the backup catches what would otherwise sit unanswered.
Grassroots Executive Director Dr. Mariana Izraelson confirmed the layoff figure. Roughly 14 of the 62 employees who received notices could choose to remain with the organization because of existing vacancies elsewhere, she told the Maryland Daily Record.
Howard County Steps In with Emergency Funding
Howard County approved $260,000 in emergency funding this week to help the organization stay open. The money is described as a short-term measure covering overhead, including rent, for the remainder of the year, not a replacement for the lost contract while the center works toward a longer-term solution.
"When federal contracting decisions undermine the resources available to organizations like Grassroots, the consequences are felt right here in our community," County Executive Calvin Ball said at a news conference reported by CBS Baltimore, adding that the effects reach both the professionals losing jobs and the people who rely on 988 and other crisis services.
The local stakes extend past the hotline. Grassroots operates the county's emergency homeless shelter, a 24-hour crisis line for Central Maryland, free walk-in crisis services, an outpatient mental health clinic, substance use treatment, a mobile crisis team, and a food and hygiene pantry. More than 1,500 area residents came through its doors last year. The organization says those services, staffed by roughly 130 professionals, are not affected by the September layoffs, though the funding loss also hit its operating budget for the building that houses them.
The 988 Line Itself Remains Operational
The federal government continues to fund Vibrant Emotional Health, the New York nonprofit that administers the national 988 Lifeline, which works with more than 200 local crisis contact centers. Grassroots was one of those partners, and its subaward for national backup services was not renewed, according to reporting by The Banner.
Grassroots says it will continue answering 988 contacts from Central Maryland consumers. What has not been publicly established is who will perform the national backup function after September 29, or whether the function will continue in the same form. The Banner reported that the federal agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
That is the central open question, and it should not be papered over. A backup layer either exists or it does not, and the operational consequence of removing one without a named replacement is longer waits for chat and text contacts during surge periods.
Unanswered Questions Before the Contract Ends
Several things remain unconfirmed. Whether another organization has been designated for backup text and chat has not been announced. Whether the function is being absorbed into a different structure, reduced, or eliminated has not been stated. Whether local centers nationwide have the capacity to absorb overflow has not been publicly assessed.
There is also a workforce dimension that is easy to overlook. Crisis counseling is specialized work, and 62 trained people leaving a single organization at once represents a capacity that cannot be quickly reconstituted if the function is restored later. Recruiting and training replacements takes months, meaning a gap in this layer may persist beyond any budget decision that would eventually reverse it.
Anyone in crisis should continue to use 988. It is available around the clock by call, text, and chat and remains the appropriate first contact for a mental health emergency. People who prefer not to speak by phone can use the text and chat options, which are the specific channels this contract supports.
Households in Howard County who rely on Grassroots for shelter, walk-in counseling, outpatient care, or substance use treatment should contact the organization directly rather than assuming services have ended, since those programs are described as continuing.
The wider pattern is worth noting without overstating it. Crisis services in many jurisdictions are funded through layered federal, state, local, and settlement dollars, and a single non-renewal can remove a function that no other payer has budgeted for. Local governments stepping in with emergency money, as Howard County has, is a stopgap that depends on a county having reserves available.
For anyone seeking treatment referrals outside of a crisis, the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 is free, confidential, and available 24/7. The next milestone to watch is September 29, when the contract ends and the layoffs take effect. MedicalDaily will report whether a replacement backup arrangement is announced before that date.
Key Questions Answered
Is 988 still working? Yes. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline remains fully operational by call, text, and chat. This change affects one backup routing layer, not the service itself.
What is the national backup center? It answers 988 chats and texts when local crisis centers cannot respond promptly, so contacts do not go unanswered during surges.
How many jobs are affected? Grassroots filed notice for 62 positions effective September 29. About 14 of those employees may be able to move into existing vacancies.
Are Grassroots' other services closing? No. The organization says its shelter, walk-in crisis services, outpatient clinic, substance use treatment, and mobile crisis team are unaffected.
Who takes over the backup function? That has not been announced. The federal agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What did Howard County do? The county approved $260,000 in emergency funding, described as a short-term contribution toward overhead rather than a replacement for the federal contract.
Where can someone get help right now? Call or text 988 for crisis support. For treatment referrals, the SAMHSA National Helpline is 1-800-662-4357, free and confidential, 24/7.
