The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free and confidential support for anyone in crisis, including people who need support for a suicidal, mental health and/or substance use crisis, or who are in emotional distress.
When a person calls or texts 988 or chats at 988lifeline.org, they are connected to a trained crisis counselor who listens, tries to understand how the problem is affecting the person, provides support, and shares resources. 988 crisis counselors are trained to help reduce the intensity of a situation for the person seeking help and connect them to additional local resources as needed.
The national 988 Lifeline was established to improve access to mental health, suicide, and substance use disorder support. 988 Lifeline provides immediate, easy access to emotional distress care, which is distinct from 911, where the focus is on dispatching emergency medical services, fire, and police, as needed.