LGBTQ+ Support Included in New 988 Crisis Lifeline
For years, people experiencing a mental health crisis have had to remember to call crisis hotlines with 10-digit numbers — unlike simply calling 911.
But a new three-digit mental health emergency hotline will launch on July 16 for those experiencing mental health crises or at risk of suicide.
This new number is 988.Currently available by phone or text at 800-273-8255 and online, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number will become 988.
The switch to 988 will occur in nine days, according to the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, signed into law by former President Donald Trump in October 2020 after passing the Senate with bipartisan support.The legislation also mandated that the switch to 988 include strategies to provide specialized services to LGBTQ+ youth, who contemplate suicide four times as often as their non-LGBTQ+ peers.The short number will be easier to remember, which will help more people in crisis — particularly LGBTQ+ young people, officials hope.Fewer than half of states have passed legislation to cover the cost of 988 implementation, according to NBC News.
