WASHINGTON – Simple, three-digit dialing to reach suicide hotline counselors will become a reality by next summer.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will earmark $282 million to transition the National Suicide Prevention Hotline from a 10-digit number to a new number – 988 – starting in July 2022. The new number also will handle text and chat.
Currently the national suicide prevention network contact number is (800) 273-TALK (8255), which routes calls to crisis centers.
“We know that remembering a three-digit number beats a ten-digit number any day, particularly in times of crisis,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
Mental health specialists hope the shorter telephone number will prove beneficial in saving the lives of individuals who are in crisis and might try to harm themselves. It is projected that call-center demand will increase significantly after the new system is in place and the public is made aware of it.
People who call, text or chat 988 will be able to reach trained counselors who are members of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. Counselors at more than 180 local centers field calls from people in crisis and connect them with other services as needed.
The new dialing code will be available nationwide starting July 16, HHS reported. The service may be available already in some parts of the nation, but not every community has access yet. The existing 10-digit number will remain available even after 988 is launched.
The FCC voted unanimously recently to require phone companies to support texting to 988, as well. The commissioners said that many people today may be more inclined to text, and the choice of voice or text should make no difference when someone in distress is seeking help.
Of the $282 million, $177 million will be allocated through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to improve and expand the crisis network’s operations and telephone infrastructure, including centralized chat and text response, backup capacity and a sub-network for Spanish-speaking people.
The balance of the funds, $105 million, will be used to beef up staffing at state and local call centers.
The funding is derived from the Biden administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget and the American Rescue Plan.
“If we do this right and we do it together as a team, 988 will become a lifeline, just as 911 has become a foundation in emergency response,” Becerra said.
Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2019, claiming more than 47,000 lives, but dropped to 11th in 2020 – numbering almost 46,000 Americans – primarily because of the coronavirus pandemic, which became the nation’s No. 3 killer.
Last year, 883 Oklahomans died by suicide, data provided by the state medical examiner’s office showed.
That was an increase of nearly 10% over 2019. It also was the highest number of suicides since at least 2006, when the agency began publishing the information online, an Oklahoma Watch analysis found.
The data also shows:
Suicide among Oklahomans has increased 62% since 2006, when there were 544 suicides.
Suicide rates in Oklahoma are highest in rural areas, where access to care is scarce.
More than 300,000 people are seen in hospital emergency departments for treatment of self-harm injuries. Suicide rates increased steadily over much of the last 20 years, and it remains a leading cause of premature death for Americans in their teens and well into their 50s.
The Suicide Prevention Lifeline has received more than 20 million calls since its inception in 2005, including nearly 2.4 million last year, according to the network’s website.