What is the 988 Suicide Crisis Lifeline?
Posted: April 11, 2024 | Author: Savannah Price | Read Time: 3 minutes
This article will take a deep dive into the new Crisis and Suicide Hotline number: 988.
You may be asking "What is the 988 hotline number and how is it different from the old number?" This is a great question! The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) explained the transition happened to reduce the number of digits needed to make such an important call in moments when seconds can be critical. The shift was also approved as a way for suicide prevention and crisis help to move away from law enforcement and rather towards an expansive and more professional group of services.
Our lives are full of many different kinds of challenges, some of which are too difficult to handle on our own. But knowing that there is a support lifeline out there can give us the strength to push on. That's why a new initiative has been taken to provide greater accessibility to the crisis prevention hotline's new number: 988. This initiative aims to provide streamlined access to service and support options, giving those in crisis opportunities to get the much-needed support quickly in times of need.
We can all help prevent suicide, from survivor to friend. The Suicide and Crisis Hotline website states, "The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones and best practices for professionals in the United States."
The mission of the Suicide and Crisis Hotline is to bring you the resources you need for any type of crisis you may be facing. They offer more than eleven types of resources and help for specific groups of people such as support for youth, disaster survivors, veterans and service members, LGBTQIAi+, and attempt survivors, to name a few. They also have a variety of current events to raise awareness for the ways that people may be suffering, and what we can do to help!
One amazing part of this website is the inclusion of other people's hope stories of how they battled against depression and suicidal thoughts, and the tools they utilized to come out of the other side towards a brighter future. These are true stories from survivors and battlers of depression and suicidal thoughts who want to share their message of light and hope with the world. Our journey isn't just impactful to our own lives, but also to those who benefit from hearing about overcoming difficult challenges. The Southern Utah University Health and Wellness Center would love to hear about your story too, so please feel welcome to stop by anytime to share your journey of hope and perseverance!
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline website offers an FAQ for any other questions you may have.
SUU has its own resource page for Mental Health help . This page is full of resources specific to SUU, for students just like you who may be struggling. The page includes SUU's color code system to help asses your current mental state, from green to yellow to red. If you or anyone you know is in the red zone, please seek help from any one of our university's help centers. You are needed and important here at SUU, and we want to ensure that you're getting all the help and support that you need!
Mental health is an uphill battle, and so is the journey of healing and self-discovery. The Health and Wellness Center invites every student to look into these resources for themselves and for their friends because you never know who will need the support! Good luck T-Birds, you got this!