988 – The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the United States

• Support over the phone is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
• Mental health screening and suicide risk assessment based on national best practices
• Access to home and/or community-based services, and peer support resources
• Collaborative safety planning
• Follow-up contacts
• Warm transfer to local youth or adult mobile crisis services for in-person services
• Coordination with 911 rescue services

• Rapid, urgent, face-to-face crisis response for children and their families expanding hours to 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
• Mental health screening and suicide risk assessment based on national best practices
• Collaborative safety planning
• Access to various home and/or community-based services, treatment services, and peer support resources
• Short-term follow-up care
• Discharge collaboration with treatment locations
• Information & Materials: mobilecrisisempsct.org

• Person-centered, telephonic support, or face-to-face response expanding hours to 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
• Mental health screening and suicide risk assessment based on national best practices
• Collaborative safety planning
• Access to various community-based and/or treatment-based services, and peer support resources
• Follow-up contacts
• Information & Materials: uwc.211ct.org/actionline

The 988 Fund shall ensure:

1. the efficient and effective routing of calls made to the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by persons in the state to an appropriate crisis center; and
2. personnel and the provision of acute mental health, crisis outreach and stabilization services by directly responding to the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

– An Act Concerning Children’s Mental Health (988 is Section 25)

Now accepting donations to the “CT 988 Fund” by check. Please make checks out to Treasurer State of Connecticut, include “CT 988 Fund” in the Note field, and mail to:

Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Attn: Business Office, 988 Fund
410 Capitol Ave., 4th Floor
P.O. Box 341431
Hartford, CT 06134

At the national level, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) leads the 988 initiative in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to plan and implement this 3-digit telephone code to strengthen and expand the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In Connecticut, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services leads the state’s 988 initiative in partnership with the Department of Children and Families.

Preparing for full 988 implementation and operational readiness requires a shared national and statewide vision for crisis care systems that provide direct, life-saving services to all in need. 988 will connect people experiencing mental and emotional health distress and/or suicidal crisis to compassionate, accessible care and support in their own state. Ideally, as early as possible.

Since the late 1960s, 911 has been both a number and an access point for emergency services such as police, fire, and ambulance. 988 will similarly be both a number and an access point for mental and emotional health distress and/or suicidal crisis services. The 988 number is scheduled to launch in July 2022, but it will take time to get the system up and running efficiently.

Fortunately, those implementing the 988 crisis service system have learned a great deal from the 911 system, and although Connecticut has a robust crisis service system to build off of, enhancements are occurring in preparation for the 988 system.

Connecticut will ensure that residents have someone to talk to, someone to respond and somewhere to go when needed. The enhancements and new services include: expansion of Mobile Crisis to 24 hours 7 days per week, adding mental health crisis care centers for all ages (similar to urgent care centers for medical needs), adult peer respite, peer support resources, and rapid access to treatment beds for youth.

Urgent Crisis Centers are now available to families of children who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis but do not require emergency department level of care.

The centers function as walk-in clinics, providing youths and their families with immediate access to resources while they are experiencing a behavioral health crisis, such as thoughts of suicide or self-injury, feelings of depression or anxiety, out-of-control behaviors; substance misuse, etc.

The centers are aimed at working collaboratively with youth and their families to address behavioral health crisis and divert from making visits to the emergency room if unnecessary. There are three community based Urgent Crisis Centers that are strategically located across CT.  You can visit any center regardless of where you live. No appointment is needed by operating hours vary by location, please check or call the UCC directly for more information. They are operated by:

• The Village for Families and Children in Hartford;
• The Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut in New London; and
• Wellmore Behavioral Health in Waterbury.

Additional Resources

• Joint UCC Flier for Providers – English
• Joint UCC Flier for Providers – Spanish

On July 16, 2022 the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK (8255) became the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In Connecticut, the United Way of Connecticut/211 (UWC) Health and Human Services Contact Center is the only provider answering calls for the NSPL/988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The 800 line and 211 will not go away in the event people need to call and aren’t familiar yet with 988. It will take time for people to learn about 988, and using a “no wrong door” approach is imperative to support timely crisis response. The CT 988 Contact Center services a person receives are the same at the call center level regardless of which number they use as the access point.

United Way of Connecticut has built its contact center capacity, and is ready to receive 988 calls. It is well staffed and has a high answer rate. Text and chat services have not yet been initiated for 988, so any 988 texters/chatters will be served by a national text or chat center.

Please help us share these primary messages:

• There is “no wrong door” in CT. To reach the CT crisis contact center for telephonic support or mobile crisis services, people can call 211 and press 1 for crisis and then 1 for children or 2 for adults, or they can call 988 to be routed to the CT contact center. They will not have to press any other numbers when they call 988 to get services, and call, text and chat services are all functioning. Veterans are still guided to press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line when they call 988, just as the 800 NSPL line did.
• Youth in crisis? In CT, call 211 (press 1 for crisis, 1 for youth), call/text 988, or chat www.988lifeline.org
• Adults in crisis? In CT, call 800-HOPE-135 or 211 (press 1 for crisis, 2 for adults), call/text 988, or chat www.988lifeline.org

• An Act Concerning Children’s Mental Health (988 is Sections 25-30, 39)
• CT 988 Implementation Plan
  • CT 988 Planning Coalition Membership
• End Card showing Call to Action for 1 Word 1 Voice 1 Life Campaign
• Gizmo’s Pawesome Guide to 988
• Top Frequently Asked Questions for 988

• 988 Fact Sheet (English, Spanish-Español)
• 988: America’s Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline
• 988 Formative Research | Action Alliance Framework for Successful Messaging
• 988 Material Orders
• 988 Partner Toolkit
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Communication Toolkit: Messaging and Communications to People at Higher Risk for or Disproportionately Impacted by Suicide
• Know What Questions to Ask with the C-SSRS-Suicide Risk Screening Tool for All Ages
• Learning Community – #CrisisTalk (crisisnow.com)
• National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020
• Native and Strong Lifeline: The Nation’s First 988 Crisis Line for Indigenous People
• NENA-What 9-1-1 Needs to Know About 9-8-8
• The Promise of 988 Video
• Vibrant and 988 – Vibrant Emotional Health : Vibrant Emotional Health
• Veterans Crisis Line and 988