The current number is 1-800-273-8255 and it will still work after the new number goes into effect.
The new number will not come with a texting option, but the FCC will look into that capability if it becomes available, CNN reported.
The vote to create a national three-digit hotline, on Thursday, July 16, was unanimous among FCC commissioners — some of whom acknowledged the strains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the compounded effect of George Floyd’s death and protests that ensued.
The toll that these events have taken on Americans’ mental health is profound: Three times as many U.S. adults reported symptoms of serious psychological distress in April compared with two years earlier, according to a study in the medical journal JAMA.
The process to implement the number will take two years. Telecom and voice service companies will be mandated to have a 988 hotline by July 16, 2022.
According to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the nation’s suicide rates are at the highest point since World War II. Suicide disproportionately affects marginalized groups — Black Americans, Native Americans, rural residents, teens and young adults, and LGBTQ people.
If you or someone you care about is suffering from concealed depression either get help or offer a helping hand. Fighting this alone is not easy or productive. The world can be a wonderful place if you get the help you need nothing can stand in your way. You are not a burden to others and the people who love and care about you want to help you, let them.
“We hope any American in a suicide crisis will come to know that 988 is the number to call for immediate help and assistance,” Pai said at the commission's open meeting Thursday. “With the implementation, we anticipate that many more Americans will receive help from suicide prevention and many more lives will be saved.”
The number to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255), which received 2.2 million calls in 2018.
