New Suicide Hotline Available Starting July 16

 

New Suicide Hotline Available Starting July 16

Call 988 Beginning July 16, the 988 dialing code will be available nationwide for call (multiple languages), text or chat (English only) for anyone in need of suicide or mental health-related crisis support.

Until then, those experiencing a mental health-related or suicidal crisis, or those looking to help a loved one through a crisis, should continue to call the Lifeline at its current number, 1-800-273-8255.

Starting July 16, when someone calls 988, they will first hear a greeting message while their call is routed to the local Lifeline network crisis center, based on the caller’s area code. A trained crisis counselor will answer the phone, listen to the caller, understand how their problem is affecting them, provide support and share resources if needed.

If the local crisis center is unable to take the call, the caller will be automatically routed to a national backup crisis center. The Lifeline provides live crisis center phone services in English and Spanish and uses Language Line Solutions to provide translation services in over 250 additional languages for people who call 988.

Text (English only) will also be available through 988 starting July 16, 2022. When someone texts to 988, they will be responded to by a group of Lifeline crisis centers that respond to chat and text. This service will expand over the next few years to increase local and state level response. Once connected, a crisis counselor will listen to you, work to understand how your problem is affecting you, provide support and share resources that may be helpful.

Chat (English only) is available through the Lifeline’s website https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. People seeking chat services will be provided a pre-chat survey before connecting with a counselor that identifies the main area of concern. If there is a wait to chat with a crisis counselor, a wait-time message will appear.