988 is launched throughout the country: the telephone line for suicide prevention

Starting this Saturday, people experiencing a mental health crisis will be able to call or text a three-digit number, 988, to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and connect with health professionals. mentally trained to respond to such emergencies.

The hotline will provide

across the country to people with mental health problems, according to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website. 

The new number will connect the caller to a certified crisis center in the area where the call is made, according to the website.

The hotline is made up of a network of 200 local crisis centers across the country.

“When people call, text or chat with 988, they will be put in touch with trained counselors who are part of the National Suicide Prevention Network,” according to the page.

“These trained counselors will listen to them, understand how their problems affect them, provide support and connect them with resources if needed,” he adds.

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The three-digit number is expected to be easier to remember in times of crisis than the 10-digit 800 number currently handled by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

It is also intended to streamline mental health responses so that people can get the urgent help they need much faster than calling 911, which typically connects callers to authorities rather than mental health professionals.

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Its launch comes about two years after the National Suicide Helpline Designation Act was passed in 2020 to designate 988 as the universal number for the national mental health crisis and suicide prevention hotline.

However, some mental health professionals are concerned that they may not be prepared to handle the expected flood of calls.

“We have all the technology,” said Jennifer Piver, executive director of Mental Health America of Greenville County, South Carolina.

she lamented.

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Most states, including South Carolina, have not appropriated money for the service.

Even partial legislation to implement 988 is pending in just 20 states, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Only four states, Colorado, Nevada, Virginia, and Washington, have enacted full funding plans.

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According to a Rand Corp. report, more than half of the public health officials tasked with launching the 988 line said they felt unprepared and did not have the necessary funding for staffing or infrastructure to manage the deployment. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 20% of Americans experience a mental illness in any given year.

And reports of mental health problems have been on the rise in recent years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Until the new hotline is operational, a person in immediate crisis can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text the HOME number to 741741, or visit

With information from