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The new dialing code does not replace the existing Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255, but it makes the resource easier to remember during emergencies, experts say.
People in distress can also chat with a trained counselor by visiting 988lifeline.org.
Here’s what you need to know about the hotline:
The new three-digit code is a direct line for people experiencing mental health distress to seek help from trained counselors. The hotline is staffed 24/7, allowing people to seek help at any time.
In 2005 the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration launched the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline under the phone number 1-800-273-8255. Since then it has received more than 20 million calls, according to the Lifeline website.
The new dialing code, 988, routes callers to the same service, but it will be easier to remember than the original phone number, said Margie Wright, executive director of the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas.
People might find it difficult to remember a 1-800 number when they’re experiencing mental health distress, Wright said.
The new 988 code is easy to associate with 911 and 211, the social service hotline. Blanca Garcia, director of mental health resources at the Grant Halliburton Foundation in Dallas, said this association will make it much easier for people to remember the hotline dialing code during emergencies.
Anyone in the U.S. who needs mental health support or who is with someone in mental health distress can call or text the number to seek help. They do not need to be in danger of suicide to reach out to the lifeline. The same is true of the preexisting 1-800 number.
About 3,309,000 adults in Texas are living with a mental illness, according to Mental Health Texas. And 754,000 adult Texans have had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year.
Despite the high numbers of mental health illness in the state, 61% of Texans who needed mental health support in Texas did not receive any, according to Mental Health Texas.
The new hotline is free, as is the 1-800 number.
When people call, text or contact the hotline service via chat, they will be connected to trained counselors who are part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network, according to the Lifeline website. The network is made up of about 200 local crisis centers, and callers will usually be connected to the center closest to where they’re calling from, Garcia said.
When people connect with the 24-hour service, the counselors will listen, provide support and connect callers to additional mental health resources if necessary.
Amy Grosso, a board member of the Central Texas chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said she anticipated an influx of people calling the Lifeline when the new number became available. She said people are much more likely to use an emergency resource when it’s widely talked about and easily memorized.
Garcia hopes the new number will help continue national conversations on mental health. Putting the 988 number alongside 911 and 211 could help normalize it and make it a little less intimidating, she said.
“Now we’re saying that physical health and mental health are both health, and it’s OK if you’re struggling with each, and there’s a way for you to get immediate help,” Grosso said. “And it also helps people know that if it is a mental health crisis, that there is a number they can call specifically to get specific mental health help and be connected with the proper resources right off the bat.”
©2022 The Texas Tribune.
