988 Videophone/Chat and Text

988 is the NEW 3 Digit Number for Suicide Support.

The 988 Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a free and confidential service.

These services are accessible throughout the United States, every hour of every day, 365 days a year, including holidays. Individuals of any age who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or an ASL users at any fluency level can utilize these resources.

988 Videophone

The 988 Videophone provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States through a one on one connection. All crisis counselors on the 988 videophone crisis line are fluent in ASL.

Contact the 988 VP:

Dial 988 using your personal videophone or smartphone (via a video relay service app) to reach us.

Contact the 988 Videophone by VP device or VRS app

When you contact the 988 VP, you can expect three things to happen:

A queue message will be provided while you are being connected to a crisis counselor fluent in ASL.

A crisis counselor will respond to your call and begin a conversation.

The crisis counselor will provide support and may share resources they feel will be helpful to you.

988 Chat and Text

988 chat/text is a free and confidential service of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline (formerly the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline). Chat and text are available 24/7 across the United States.

DeafLEAD is the 988 chat/text state center for Missouri and a national back-up center.

There are two ways to chat with the 988 Lifeline:

By Chat

Contact using a computer, tablet or smartphone through 988 Lifeline website, or by clicking the button below.

Start a chat with a counselor

By Text

Contact by using your phone and texting 988. You can also call and speak with a counselor by dialing 988.

Start a text with a counselor

When you contact 988 chat/text, you can expect three things to happen:

A wait time will be provided while you are being connected to a crisis counselor.

A counselor will respond to your text or chat and begin a conversation.

The counselor will provide support and may share resources they feel will be helpful to you.

Send a text to 988 or begin a chat on the 988 website.

988 Lifeline FAQs

The full list of FAQs can be found on the 988 Lifeline website.p09l

Anyone who is depressed, going through a hard time, needs to talk, or is thinking about suicide can use the service. The crisis counselors are here to listen and support you through whatever difficult times you may be facing.

The 988 Lifeline videophone, chat or text service is available 24/7, everyday of the year.

You can send any message to 988 to start a text conversation.

The confidentiality and security of transcripts and any data collected during chats and texts are ensured through the Lifeline chat and text software provider, which uses the same encryption and data protection standards required by major financial institutions to transact business with each other.

If you need to leave a conversation without saying goodbye to your crisis counselor, you can do so. For videophone you can end the call at any time. For chat, you can click “End conversation” at any time to close the conversation. For text, you can send STOP and your crisis counselor will close the conversation without sending any future messages – though you will immediately receive a single automated message offering an opportunity to complete a post-conversation survey. (Note: For text, many phone carriers will require you to send UNSTOP if you ever want to start texting 988 again.)

If the service appears offline or busy, please call the Lifeline at 988 – we are available 24/7. If you or someone you know is in danger or needs immediate medical attention, please call 911.

Knowing a bit about you, what you’re going through, and how you’re feeling right now can help your crisis counselor better support you as soon as your conversation starts.