The 988 national suicide and crisis lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States. The Lifeline is comprised of a national network of over 200 local crisis centers, combining custom local care and resources with national standards and best practices.

Dialing or texting “988” or chat 988lifeline.org can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be:

• Thoughts of suicide
• Mental health or substance use crisis, or
• Any other kind of emotion distress

The 988 dialing code operates through what was formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 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.

Click here to learn more about the 988 line.