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.
