What is 988?
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a free and confidential service available 24/7/365 for anyone experiencing mental health-related distress. People can call, text, or chat 988 for themselves or a loved one to connect with a trained crisis counselor who will provide support in three important ways:
Emotional support and crisis de-escalation: Immediate support for anyone experiencing an emotional crisis that is nonjudgmental and supportive. The goal is to use the least invasive intervention to support the caller in moment and utilize existing external supports.
Planning: When someone is in an emotional crisis, they need more than just calming down. There is often worry that the crisis state will return. Having a plan for moving forward is critical to support self-autonomy and connection to resources to address a specific concern or engage in regular mental health support. Follow-up calls are also available to check-in and support callers as they connect to community resources.
Connection to in-person crisis intervention (if needed) and/or local resources for ongoing support: Sometimes, phone-based crisis intervention is not enough. Crisis counselors can connect callers to in-person, local crisis intervention services. Often this is a mobile crisis response team, which includes mental health professionals who can support a caller in person to reduce the rate of hospitalizations and limit law enforcement intervention.
How to contact 988?
Call
Dial 9-8-8
You’ll hear this greeting and can choose specialized options (option 1 for Veterans and 2 for Spanish speakers). Your call is routed to the nearest crisis center.
**290+ other languages are supported with interpretation services.
Chat
Dial 9-8-8
Visit: https://chat.988lifeline.org/
After completing a brief survey, you will be connected to the nearest crisis center.
Text 9-8-8
For Spanish: Text AYUDA
Veterans: send a text to 838255
After sending the initial text, you will need to agree to the terms of service and complete a brief survey. You will receive a “wait” message while you are connected to the nearest crisis center.
988 is part of the larger initiative to support the mental health crisis continuum.
This continuum includes someone to contact, someone to respond, and a safe place for help.
NAMI Chicago partners with community organizations across Chicago, the suburbs, and Illinois to strengthen the crisis care continuum and ensure residents have access to timely, compassionate support. With 988 serving as the universal entry point for mental health and crisis services, we work to provide local connections and resources for individuals reaching out for help, ensuring they receive the care they need close to home.
For more information: https://988lifeline.org/
988 News
Congratulations to Stephanie Goeres, NAMI Chicago Senior Manager of 988, for being awarded the NAMI Illinois Linda Dzuibala Above and Beyond Award. This annual recognition honors individuals within NAMI affiliates who demonstrate exceptional dedication to the organization's mission by going "above and beyond" their assigned duties. See the highlights here.
