How one call to 988 talks teens back from the edge

When the U.S. switched to the easy-to-remember 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in July 2022, it didn't just rebrand a hotline — it scaled one up. In the first year, 988 handled about 5 million contacts, and answer rates jumped (calls from 70% to 93%, texts and chats above 98%). Most contacts are de-escalated by a trained counselor without needing any in-person response, and callers consistently report feeling less suicidal and more hopeful afterward. A study estimated that suicide deaths among 15-to-23-year-olds ran about 11% below projections in the line's first two-and-a-half years — roughly 4,400 fewer young lives lost than expected.

Crisis lines work because a calm, trained voice in the worst moment buys time and routes people to help. Making the number short and memorable measurably increased how many people actually reached that voice.

• Put 988 in your teen's phone and your own — and say out loud that calling is a sign of strength.
• Tell your teen they can text, not just call, if talking feels impossible.
• Use calm moments to normalize reaching out, so it's familiar before any crisis.

• Call or text 988 (en español too) — free, confidential, 24/7.
• Text HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line as an alternative.
• For immediate danger, call 911; for ongoing care, ask your pediatrician for a referral.

• ScienceAlert — the 988 hotline is saving thousands of lives, study suggests sciencealert.com ↗
• AFSP — about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline afsp.org ↗
• PMC — 988 in the US: status of implementation evidence pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗

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