On Saturday, Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit organization that operates the lifeline on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (SAMHSA) Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Administration, launched the dialing code 988 available for everyone in the United States.
So far, the dialing code to reach the lifeline has been 1-800-273-TALK, which will remain operational during the current expansion to 988. You can also send text messages to the three-digit number.
Veterans can now dial 988 and press 1 to reach the veterans crisis line.
“One of the goals of 988 is to ensure that people get the help they need when they need it, where they need it. And so when a person calls 988, they can expect to have a conversation with a trained, compassionate crisis. A counselor who will talk to them about what they are experiencing. If this is the case they need more intervention, it is likely that the crisis counselor will connect with a local mobile crisis team, “Dr. SAMHSA administrator Miriam Delphin-Rittmon said earlier this month during a call with reporters.
“Part of the goal is, whenever possible, to minimize unnecessary contact or connection with police departments when what a person needs is to connect with a mobile crisis worker or anyone in the system. mental health and behavioral health care, ”he added.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has been in operation since 2005 and is funded by SAMHSA.
In 2020, the five leaders of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to end 988 as a three-digit number that Americans can dial to connect to the network of lifeline-formed advisors existing.
That year, the 2020 National Suicide Hotline Designation Act became law, amending the Communications Act of 1934 to designate 988 as “the universal telephone number for the purpose of the national hotline system. suicide prevention and mental health crisis that worked through the National Suicide Prevention Line and through the Veterans Crisis Line, and for other purposes.
As 988 becomes an easier number to remember for mental health crises, similar to how people can dial 911 for medical emergencies, there has been a growing concern among major mental health groups and suicide prevention that 988 call centers may not be ready to handle. an anticipated influx of calls.
The call line received 3.6 million calls, chats and text messages in 2021, and that number is expected to double during the first full year after the transition to 988, according to SAMHSA.
Bob Gebbia, director general of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, told CNN that “a major concern is that the demands may exceed capacity very quickly and these centers will be overwhelmed.”
“When that happens, calls go down, waiting times go up, and people who are at the other end and struggling don’t get the connection they need,” Gebbia said.
Since the FCC’s approval in 2020 of 988, the federal government and Vibrant have been preparing for the national implementation of the three-digit number by offering grants to states to support call centers and actively trying to recruit more crisis.
People interested in learning more can visit the SAMHSA website.