Initiative Supported by:
In July 2022, our country entered a new era of more equitable and accessible crisis services, marked by the adoption of 988 as the easy to remember three-digit dialing, texting, and chat code for anyone experiencing a suicidal or mental health related crisis. As the U.S-based universal dialing code connecting to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline)—a network of local crisis centers throughout the country—988 increases the accessibility and use of life-saving interventions and resourc
This is an exciting development for the nation broadly—and for the mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention fields in particular—and will understandably be the topic of considerable attention and public communications. Given the critical, lifesaving nature of 988, it is essential that these public communications are accurate, effective, and safe.