988 Could be the New Suicide Lifeline Number

The Federal Communications Commission plans to move forward with implementing the 988 number as a national suicide prevention hotline. How this works is, service providers will begin to send calls with this number to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

On July 16, the FCC will vote on cementing the 988 number as a new means to reach assistance in times of crisis. This is a reflection of the number used for emergency services, 911, in the sense that it should be that easy and fast to contact a counselor when one is having a difficult time.

All carriers and IP services will be tasked with ensuring the number is implemented across the United States. 

Previously, the final draft of a bill pushing use the number was rejected due to carriers and other service providers wanting a larger timeframe to adjust. Once the three-digit number is placed, people will still be able to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline through its original, ten-digit phone number. 

“The Trevor Project commends the FCC for moving forward with the implementation of 988 on an efficient, two-year timeline. Suicide remains the second-leading cause of death among young people, and LGBTQ youth are at increased risk. Americans in crisis cannot wait. We also applaud the FCC’s continued support for specialized services for LGBTQ youth.

“Moving forward, we call on the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the National Suicide Hotline Implementation Act, which includes a number of important provisions including requirements for LGBTQ cultural competency training for existing counselors and the establishment of an Integrated Voice Response option for LGBTQ youth to reach specialized care,” Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project Sam Brinton states.

Research by the Trevor Project shows that our LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their cis, straight peers. In addition to this, more than a million youths who identify as queer consider suicide each year. In their 2019 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth, the Trevor Project uncovered that 87 percent of the participants stated the importance of the need to reach out during times of need.

It is evident that our queer youth highly benefit from crisis services, and now, with a shorter number, it will be easier to get help.

“It has never been more clear that our national mental health infrastructure requires reinforcement and innovation to meet the growing need.”