What is 988?
988 is a new, easy to remember three-digit dailing code connecting people to the 988
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline ( formerly know as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), where support from trained crisis counselors is available 24/7 nationwide for anyone experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis or any other emotional distress.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, administered by Vibrant Emotional Health and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is active across the United States as of July 16, 2022.

  What do I need to know about 988?
*  When you call 988, you call gets routed to a local Lifeline network crisis center based on your area code.  If the local crisis center is unable to take the call, you’ll be automatically routed to a national backup crisis center.
*  Trained crisis counselors help you through the crisis, and if appropriate, connect you with resources in their community.
*  Veterans, active military and their families can call 988 and press option 1.  This process is the same as it has been in the past for Veterans;  however, it’s now simpler with the shortened 988 number.
*  When you reach out to 988, the Lifeline crisis counselor who responds to you will know your phone number if you call/text, or your IP address if you use chat.  Beyond that, they will not know who you are or where you are located.  You are not required to provide any  personal information to recieve support from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
*  Currently, text and chat functionality are only available in English.  Phone service is available in English and Spanish, with translation services available in 250 additional languages.

*  The long-term vision of 988 is to expand access to comprehensive crisis care services, offering people someone to talk to, someone to come to them and somewhere to go, as needed.
*  Similar to how the 911 infrastructure developed over many years, the capacity of 988 to deploy mobile mental health crisis teams in the near term will be based on each community’s current crisis care infrastructure.
*  Establishment of the 988 number was an important first step, and althrough much work remains, 988 is already expanding access to services.  The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline saw a 45% increase in overall Lifeline volume ( calls,texts, chats) in August 2022 compare to August 2021.