FCC votes to let people text ‘988’ to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline starting in July

FCC votes to let people text ‘988’ to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline starting in July

Posted on November 18, 2021

The FCC voted unanimously to expand access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by letting people text 988 starting next year. Text message providers have to support the three-digit code by July 16th, 2022, which is when the code will go into effect. “With today’s decision to require providers to support text messaging to 988, the FCC has created a new vehicle for people to access help,” Daniel H. Gillison, Jr., CEO of NAMI said in a statement. “The ability to text 988 will support at-risk communities, including youth and young adults, marginalized and underserved populations, and individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.”