988: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and mental health crisis hotline number

About 988

988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who 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.

People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a trained crisis counselor who can help.

Need for 988

Too many people are experiencing suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress without the support and care they need. There are urgent realities driving the need for crisis service transformation across our country. Some statistics:

In 2020 alone, the U.S. had one death by suicide about every 11 minutes. For people aged 10 – 34 years, suicide is a leading cause of death. From April 2020 to 2021, over 100,000 individuals died from drug overdoses. Yet, there is hope. The 988 Lifeline helps thousands of struggling people overcome suicidal crisis or mental-health related distress every day.