Major mental health news! The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has a new 3-digit phone number, 988. This is a huge victory for mental health advocates! This new number is much easier to remember than the previous 1-800 number. It also marks a tremendous influx of funding from the Biden administration to create and expand call centers and secondary call centers, call centers in Spanish, and improved website chat room functionality. 

In this episode we’ll cover the history of suicide prevention call centers in the US. We’ll also discuss why having expanded mental health services in a crisis matters. Finally we call 988 and test out the new functionality. (Spoiler alert- It works amazingly!) In addition to a new number, even the name has changed. It’s now called “988 Suicide & Prevention Lifeline.” People in crisis or their loved ones can call, text, or chat for free with a person trained in suicide prevention 24/7. Texting and chatting are incredibly popular tools for young people. Find out more about why these functions are so important in this week’s blog, “Texting to Save a Life.”