Dial 988 for Suicide, Crisis Hotline

A new national suicide and crisis lifeline, dial 988, goes live tomorrow, Saturday, July 16, 2022.

The three-digit lifeline has been in the works since 2019 through the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). Individuals calling this new phone number will connect with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors.

The FCC made recommendations in 2019 to adopt a three-digit call center line for mental health crisis, similar to the 911 number. The 988 national hotline number has 200 local offices answering calls nationwide. 

Last October, mandatory 10-digit local dialing in area codes 513 and 859 was implemented to allow for this change to occur.