988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Call 988 

Dialing or texting 988 is a direct connection to compassionate care and support for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts, who is at risk of suicide, or who is struggling with emotional distress. The Lifeline is free and confidential, with operators that treat callers with respect and listen without judgment.

Who qualifies?

Anyone. No matter your circumstances, there is no wrong door when accessing the Lifeline. 988 can be used by anyone, any time, free of charge. If you are calling about a friend or family member who is in distress, the person on the phone will walk you through how to help and provide resources. 

How do I use 988?

If you are in crisis or suicidal and call 988 you will talk to a highly trained and compassionate call center professional. All calls are routed to a call center where a crisis counselor will provide confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone of any age, including non-English speakers and those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

You typically will be greeted by an automated system and selection of prompts including options for Veterans, Spanish speakers, and support for youth and young adults. A trained crisis counselor will answer the phone and assess the situation and risk to determine how to best respond in order to keep the caller safe. Calls may last for as long as the caller needs to talk through the situation. In rare cases, the crisis counselor might need to alert local law enforcement to make sure a person is safe. In many cases a follow-up call will occur within an agreed upon time frame.

For more information and resources, visit the 988 website

Why Do We Need 988?

Alaska and the nation are experiencing a mental health crisis. But the crisis is not irreversible.

• In Alaska in 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native youth ages 10-19, and for youth ages 10-14.  Suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death overall for all Alaska youth and young adults, ages 15-34.
• According to the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2019, over 1 in 3 Alaska high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 or more weeks in a row; 25% seriously considered attempting suicide; and nearly 20% attempted suicide.
• Those statistics are sobering, but there is good news:
• Suicide is most often preventable. For every person who dies by suicide annually, there are 316 people who seriously consider suicide but do not kill themselves.
• Over 90% of people who attempt suicide go on to live out their lives.

988 is a critical tool to help meet these challenges with evidence-based crisis intervention. The goal of 988 is to provide a simple and direct way for Alaskans to connect to resources and ultimately, to save lives.