What number do I call if I am thinking about suicide?
Call or text 988. It works in both the United States and Canada, 24 hours a day, free and confidential.
9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline (Canada) —
call or text 988.
24/7, English and French.
You do not have to be about to act. Most people who reach these lines are somewhere further back than that, and the counsellors would far rather talk early.
Will calling a crisis line send police to my door?
Usually not, but it is not impossible. The 988 Lifeline says it contacts emergency services without the caller's agreement in fewer than one call in two hundred, and only when someone is unable or unwilling to stay safe.
That is rare, and it is not zero. Research with trans and non-binary callers found the large majority did not want emergency services involved at all, so the worry is common and it is not irrational. Two things help: you can say at the start of a call that you do not want emergency services and ask what that means, and there is a line built around exactly this concern.
Trans Lifeline holds a policy against contacting emergency services without your consent.
It is open to anyone who needs it, not only trans callers:
877-565-8860 in the US,
877-330-6366 in Canada.
Monday to Friday, 1pm to 9pm Eastern, so use 988 outside those hours.
Is there still an LGBTQ+ option on 988?
No. 988's specialised service for LGBTQ+ young people, reached by pressing 3, was shut down on 17 July 2025 and has not been restored. Pressing 3 today does not reach it.
Funding to reinstate it has been approved and the service has been described as returning, but it is not back yet. Until it is, go direct.
Can I text instead of talking?
Yes, on every major line.
Crisis Text Line (US) — text HOME to
741741.
24/7. Text HOLA for Spanish.
I moved and kept my number. Where does 988 reach?
On the big three US carriers, calls reach roughly where you are. Texts still go by your area code, and so do calls on some smaller carriers.
Since January 2025 the three national US carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon) have routed 988 calls by approximate location rather than area code. Smaller carriers are not required to follow until December 2026, so on one of those a call may still route by area code today. Texts are behind: national carriers are not required to route them by location until April 2027, and the rest until October 2028.
What this means in practice. If your phone number belongs to a place you no longer live, texting 988 will most likely reach a centre there. The counsellor can still help, but any local follow-up will be local to the wrong place. Call rather than text if you want to be connected to services near you, and if you are on a smaller carrier, say where you are early in the call. Neither method gives the centre your precise location.
What are the numbers in Canada?
988 works nationwide, in English and French.
Emergency —
911.
Immediate danger.
Is there a line with Indigenous counsellors?
Yes, in Canada. The Hope for Wellness Helpline is open to all Indigenous people across Canada, 24 hours a day, on 1-855-242-3310 and by online chat.
Counselling in Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut is available on request, but not around the clock, and which languages are covered shifts from week to week. Call and ask when a speaker will next be on. English and French are always available.
Young people can also text FIRST NATIONS, INUIT or METIS to 686868 to ask Kids Help Phone for a responder from their own community.
Someone I love is in danger. What do I do?
If they are in immediate danger, call 911. If they are not, you can call 988 yourself. These lines take calls from people worried about someone else, and you do not need that person's permission to ask for guidance.
You will not be asked to hand the phone over. The counsellor's job in that call is to help you work out what to say and what to do next.
I am grieving, not suicidal. Is a crisis line right?
They will talk to you. These lines are for emotional distress, not only for suicide, and grief is distress.
That said, a crisis line is built for the hours that feel unsurvivable rather than for the long middle of grief. If what you are carrying is heavy but not dangerous, ongoing support usually serves better than a single call: a bereavement group, a therapist who works in grief, or a hospice bereavement programme, most of which take people whose person did not die in their care. In the US, the SAMHSA National Helpline on 1-800-662-4357 gives free referrals to local services 24 hours a day.