The National Suicide Prevention hotline now has a new, easier-to-remember phone number. Effective Saturday (July 16), those wishing to find someone to speak with need only dial 988 to get help.
Previously, the hotline number was a full-length, 10-digit number.
Modeled after 911, the new three-digit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is designed to be a memorable and quick number to connect people in a mental health crisis to a trained mental health professional.
“If you are willing to turn to someone in your moment of crisis, 988 will be there,” said Xavier Becerra, the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, at a recent press briefing.
“988 won't be a busy signal, and 988 won't put you on hold. You will get help.”
According to the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the number of calls, chats and texts to the Lifeline reached 3.6 million last year. That number is expected to double within the first full year after the transition to 988.
The vision for 988 is to have additional crisis services available in communities across the nation, much the way emergency medical services work.
Read more about the new system at NPR.org.