A new, three-digit telephone number was activated on July 16 to make it easier for anyone considering suicide to get help.
The streamlined number is 988, patterned after the 911 emergency telephone number. It can be used to call for help, send a text message or open a chat. The original, 10-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, (800) 273-8255, remains in effect.
“988 is more than a number, it is a message: we’re there for you. Through this and other actions, we are treating mental health as a priority and putting crisis care in reach for more Americans,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “There is still much work to do. But what matters is that we’re launching, 988 will be live. We are looking to every governor and every state in the nation to do their part to make this a long-term success.”
As part of the rollout social media accounts and websites are being updated. There are also commercials announcing the change, including one for a special group of people.
Active duty and retired military personnel, veterans and their families.
“Folks that utilize the crisis line often are familiar with the 1-800 number,” said Lisa Geradot, manager of the Suicide Prevention Program at the Charlie Norwood Veteran’s Administration Hospital. “But suppose you are somebody that’s just encountered something brand new. Suppose you are a loved one or a friend that’s observing something, you know, because you don’t just have to call these numbers for yourself. I mean, we want family members and friends of veterans to know that they can access and reach out, if they have concern for someone, it doesn’t just have to be the veteran.”
This is the first major change in the lifeline since it launched in 2005. It is part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in HHS. Since the launch, it has received more than 20-million calls from people in crisis who are looking for help and support.
In 2021 alone, it received 3.6 million calls. SAMSA anticipates that number could double in the coming year.
One feature specifically for veterans from the original ten-digit number will still be available through the 988 number.
“One option is what gets folks to the Veterans Crisis Line people,” said Geradot. “Just like the 1-800 number, you press one and your calls got routed to our call centers, with 988 you press one, the same thing happens. If you do just 988 without pressing one, you will talk to crisis line folks. But the press one option gets to our folks. You’re within the VA system and you have then the possibility of being referred down to us. It’s just a fuller picture to have your crisis addressed.”
The new number is focused on speeding up the process of how people can ask for help. But Geradot also says finding a way to slow down someone in crisis is just as important. She said a study found, once someone contemplates suicide, the time between when the decision is made to action taken is less than an hour.
That is the reason she tells to put layers of protection in place, especially in times of high stress. She said they have gunlocks to distribute that work on both handguns and long guns. Another layer would be to lock up ammunition and store it away from the firearms.
Other layers are to lock away medications. Lock away knives until needed for food preparation and locking poisons such as cleaning supplies and pesticides.
“Then if somebody is having a crisis, they have to go through all of these different steps and activities to put all the pieces and parts together. And that takes time. And in that time, all sorts of things can happen,” she said. “The crisis can resolve because sometimes crises resolve just on their own right. You can have someone call on the telephone, you can have someone come into the house and go, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ It can be the most random of things.”
Geradot said, since the rollout of the new telephone number, they are updating all their printed materials and wallet sized cards they distribute to patients and their families. Outgoing letters are being updated and the information has been included on all voicemail messages.
The easier to remember number for the lifeline will lead people where to find help when they are in crisis. But only if they ask. Geradot said people should not be embarrassed to ask for help.
“That’s messaging we have to continue, continue to put out. A lot of things that I tell folks, is that as individual people, every single one of us, we need to do a little bit of an introspection ourselves, how do we think about emotional health for ourselves? How do we think about it with in our family? Because if we start talking about it as a priority, if we start talking about it as just something normal that we do, then that stigma starts to decrease,” she said.
More information on the 988 lifeline is available at: https://988lifeline.org/
There is also a website with resources specifically for veterans: www.maketheconnection.net
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
