In the 2 years since launching, the 988 crisis hotline has taken 10 million calls

It’s been two years since the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was launched. And in that time, a staggering 10 million people have called and been helped by the lifeline, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“That’s 10 million people who, often on the worst day of their life, had a resource to reach out to,” Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told ABC News.

Before the 988 lifeline launched, a national suicide hotline still existed — it just required people to dial a 10-digit number to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which had been active since 2005. 

“In its first year, [the 10-digit Lifeline] served about 45,000 people, and to think that we serve that many people in less than a week now is sort of mind-boggling,” said Dr. Tia Dole, chief 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline officer for the lifeline’s administrator, Vibrant Emotional Health. “The average call is 14 minutes. To me, that type of impact is so significant. [With 988,] you don’t need insurance, you don’t need to say who you are—and the person on the other end of the line instantly has empathy for you.”

In the months leading up to 988’s launch, advocates worried that it would be held back by funding and staffing issues, especially as they anticipated a huge increase in call volume. Two years later, both federal and state funding have helped keep the lifeline online — though call and text answer rates still aren’t perfect, which means there’s still work to do.

“We’re two years into a system that needed massive infrastructure investment, new ways of thinking, new ways of partnering with other systems,” Wesolowski explained. “We always knew that [building out crisis care] was going to take many years, and if we waited for it to be perfect, we never would have gotten it off the ground.”

The importance of the 988 hotline is backed by troubling statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In its most recent data from 2022, the CDC reports that suicide claimed the lives of over 49,000 people that year. It was also the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10-14, and those 25-34 years of age.  

“It’s not acceptable that suicide is one of the leading causes of death when there is help out there,” said  said Jennifer Christian-Herman, vice president of Clinical Strategy and Programs at Blue Shield of California. “Having a way that you can easily reach out to a counselor who listens and gives guidance can save lives.” 

Before the lifeline launched, the Biden administration funneled $1.5 billion in funding into helping it get off the ground. A lot of that money was used to address the capacity concerns at the outset — but questions about sustainable funding for the future do still remain.

“I want 988 to be as ubiquitous in our culture as 911,” Wesolowski said. “I want every young person to not even hesitate, to not even think — if they are struggling, if their friend is struggling, if their parent or sibling is struggling — to feel like 988 is a natural place for them to reach out to and to know what they’re going to get when they reach out.”

What happens when you call 988

When you call 988 in the United States, you reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Here’s what typically happens when you call 988:

1. Your call is routed to the nearest crisis center based on your area code.
2. A trained crisis counselor will answer the phone.
3. The counselor will listen to you, understand how your problems are affecting you, provide support, and share resources if needed.
4. If necessary, they can connect you with emergency services or other local resources.

The 988 Lifeline is designed to be a more accessible and memorable number than the previous 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It was fully implemented across the United States in July 2022.

The service is available to anyone experiencing mental health-related distress, including thoughts of suicide, mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, you can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org . To learn how to get support for mental health, drug, and alcohol issues, visit FindSupport.gov.