National Suicide Hotline Contacted 10 Million Times

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The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has answered more than 10 million calls, texts and chats since it launched in July 2022, saving thousands of lives, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Tuesday.

Like the 911 emergency service, the 988 suicide prevention number is staffed 24/7 nationwide, with a network of more than 200 state and local crisis call centers.

Before the 988 launch, the hotline was only available through a 10-digit number. Once the three-digit number was implemented, people were also given the option to reach out through text or online chat.

“Over the past two years, we’ve made significant investments at all levels, helping states, territories (and) our tribal partners to hire crisis counselors, to improve local response, to ensure our national backup capacity,” HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said in a call with reporters.

Specialized services

Since 2022, about 1.2 million calls have been made to the Veterans Crisis Line (by dialing 988 and pressing 1) by veterans and their families. There have been more than 2 million contacts in two years across phone, text (by texting 838255) and chat, HHS announced.

Since 2023, about 90,000 Spanish-language calls were made by dialing 988 and pressing option 2, and about 20,000 messages were received by texting “Ayuda” to the three-digit number or utilizing the Spanish-language chat online.

More than 475,000 contacts were made by LGBTQI+ youth across text, calls and chats, HHS reported. About 20,000 videophone contacts were made by people who are deaf or hard of hearing, using American Sign Language to speak with a counselor via 988 from their videophone.

Suicide rates in the U.S.

In 2021, about 12.3 million adults seriously thought about suicide and 1.7 million attempted it, resulting in 48,183 deaths, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, people 85 and older have the highest suicide rate, followed by those 75 to 84.

If you would like to volunteer or work for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, search the opportunities listed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency’s Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English. 