988 Key Messages

Need Support Now?

988 offers 24/7 judgment-free support for mental health, substance use, and more. Text, call, or chat 988. Access for Deaf/HoH and Spanish speakers.

About 988

These key messages are designed to cover the basics of 988 and provide a strong foundation from which partners can build for their audience-specific needs. The key messages work in coordination with the messaging guidance outlined in the 988 Messaging Framework developed by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and its messaging task force.

About 988

People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a caring, trained counselor who can help.

988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be:

• Thoughts of suicide
• Mental health or substance use crises
• Emotional distress
• And other reasons to connect (46 seconds)

Need for 988

Need for 988

Too many people are experiencing suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress without the support and care they need, and sadly, the pandemic only made a bad situation worse when it comes to mental health and wellness in America.

There are urgent realities driving the need for crisis service transformation across our country.

In 2021 and 2022:

• The U.S. had one death by suicide about every 11 minutes
• For people aged 10–14 and 25–34 years, suicide was the second-leading cause of death
• Suicide rates increased significantly among non-Hispanic Black & American Indian and Alaska Native people
• More than 950,000 youth aged 12-17 and 1.6 million adults attempted suicide
• About 107,000 people died from drug overdoses

Yet, there is hope. The 988 Lifeline helps thousands of people struggling to overcome suicidal crises or mental health-related distress every day.

988 Partner Toolkit

The 988 Partner Toolkit is intended to facilitate partner efforts for collaborative and aligned 988 communication planning.

• Key Messages
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Logo and Branding
• Social Media Shareables
• End Cards for Media
• More Resources

Vision for 988 and Working for the lifeline

Vision for 988

The 988 dialing code operates through what was formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It is a network of over 200 locally operated and funded crisis centers around the country.

Congress designated 988 in 2020 and the Lifeline transitioned to the 3-digit number in July 2022. As a part of the federal government’s commitment to addressing the mental health crisis in America, unprecedented federal resources have been invested to scale up crisis centers in support of 988.

Transition to 988 is an important step forward and offers an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and transform crisis care in our country.

While this is an exciting time to reimagine how we provide crisis services in the U.S., the full vision of a transformed crisis care system with 988 at its core will not be built overnight. Transformation of this scale will take time. That success depends heavily on state and territory support, so states and the federal government must all work together.

Transformation of this scale is never easy. The sustainable success of 988 depends heavily on the willingness of state, territorial, and local leaders to make additional investments in shoring up their crisis care systems. The federal government cannot do this alone.

We anticipate that 988 will continue to grow and evolve over the years, much the way 911 and emergency medical services have grown over the past five decades. We do expect a more rapid 988 transition to occur to meet the expected demand for 24/7 access to trained counselors who can help people experiencing suicidal thoughts, substance use, and other mental health crises.

In the longer term, the vision for 988 is to build a robust crisis care response system across the country that links people who call, text, or chat to community-based providers who can deliver a full range of crisis care services, if needed (like mobile crisis teams or stabilization centers), in addition to connecting people in need to tools and resources that will help prevent future crisis situations.

Working for the Lifeline

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is funded by SAMHSA and has been administered by Vibrant Emotional Health since it began as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in 2005 (see Lifeline Timeline).

The 988 Lifeline is a national network of over 200 local, independent crisis centers equipped to help people in mental health-related distress or experiencing a suicidal crisis via call, chat, or text 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the U.S. People using the 988 Lifeline are not required to provide any payment or insurance information to receive support. National sub-networks provide specialized support services to veterans, Spanish-language speakers, and people who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing.

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