988 Launched This Weekend. Here's What 9-1-1 Needs to Know.
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On July 16, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) transitioned from its previous ten-digit phone number to the 988 dialing code.
How will 988 and 9-1-1 work together?
In rare but critical circumstances — less than 2% of the time — counselors will determine via their protocols that someone is at imminent risk of harming themselves or someone else. In these situations, the Lifeline will contact 9-1-1 to dispatch emergency services.
988 is not able to directly transfer a call to 9-1-1. Because of that, the Lifeline counselor must relay the information to the 9-1-1 dispatcher.
If I get a call from a 988 Lifeline counselor requiring dispatch, what should I do?
If the Lifeline counselor has location information, follow your existing protocols for emergency dispatch.
If the Lifeline counselor is not able to provide location information, they may ask you to initiate a geolocation lookup with the wireless carrier or Internet service provider (ISP). Note: The Lifeline does everything it can to get a location; however, 988 does not have access to geolocation data for incoming contacts.
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