Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in the United States of America

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The lines on this page are answered by counsellors, trained volunteers or clinical staff, depending on the service. If you are not in the United States, the worldwide list is organised by country.

988 is the number to start with. It is the national three-digit code every US carrier routes, it takes a call or a text, and it answers in English and in Spanish. The lines below it are for particular people or particular problems, and one of them is an information and support service rather than a crisis line. Each entry says which it is.

What you share is kept private in almost all cases; if a counsellor believes a life is in immediate danger, they may arrange urgent help. What each service costs is set out beside it below. Most of the lines here are free to call, and where an organisation publishes no call cost we say so rather than guess.

TherapyRoute is a directory. We do not answer calls or messages ourselves, so please use the numbers below rather than contacting us if you need someone now.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Each number below was checked in September 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at a United States federal government page.

Notice an error or a missing service? Please tell us so we can correct it.

911, the emergency number, and how it differs from 988

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988

Veterans Crisis Line, 988 then press 1

Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741

Boys Town National Hotline, 800-448-3000

The Trevor Project, for LGBTQ+ young people

Trans Lifeline, weekday hours

Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990

NAMI HelpLine, information and support, weekday hours

Teen Line, evening hours, answered by teenagers

Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center, Los Angeles

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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911, the emergency number, and how it differs from 988

911 is the emergency number in the United States. Call it when there is danger to life, and say what has happened. The Federal Communications Commission, the federal regulator, describes its own duty plainly: "One provision of the 911 Act directs the FCC to make 911 the universal emergency number for all telephone services."

The National 911 Program, which sits in the Department of Transportation, gives the same instruction: "If you need emergency assistance, dial 911 immediately."

Emergency, for police, fire and emergency medical help: 911

Cost: not published on the pages we read.

One honest caveat about reach, in the regulator's own words rather than ours. The Commission writes that "virtually all carriers now use 911 as the universal emergency number and route 911 calls to an appropriate PSAP. However, emergency services through a PSAP may not be available in all localities." A PSAP is the public safety answering point, the local centre that picks up the call. The Commission adds that "although there may be some counties that still do not have basic 911 services, wireless carriers can deliver 911 calls to the appropriate local emergency authority."

988 is the crisis line, not the emergency line. It is for suicidal thoughts, for mental health and substance use crises, and for people worried about someone else. Where there is an injury or immediate physical danger, 911 is the number to call.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988

988 is the United States' national suicide and crisis line, and it is the number to start with. Its own site puts it simply: "If you need emotional support, reach out to the national mental health hotline: 988." Calls are answered by a network of local crisis centres.

In its own words: "At the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, we understand that life's challenges can sometimes be difficult. Whether you're facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, our caring counselors are here for you. You are not alone."

SAMHSA, the federal agency behind it, describes where the code came from: "In 2020, Congress designated the new 988 dialing code to be operated through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline."

Tel: 988

Text: 988

Chat: chat.988lifeline.org

Tel, for a Spanish-speaking counsellor: 988, then press 2

Text, for a Spanish-speaking counsellor: AYUDA to 988

Videophone, for Deaf and Hard of Hearing callers using ASL: 988 from a videophone number. In the Lifeline's own words, "You can reach out to 988 Videophone by calling 988 with a VP number."

TTY: "Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988", in the Lifeline's own words.

Hours: "The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7/365", in its own words. The Deaf and Hard of Hearing videophone route carries the same figure on its own page.

Cost: "Using the 988 Lifeline is free."

Languages: English and Spanish, with voice, text and chat in each. In the Lifeline's own words: "To call a Spanish-speaking counselor, dial 988 and then press 2. To text with a Spanish-speaking counselor, text AYUDA to 988. To chat with a Spanish-speaking counselor, please start a chat in Spanish."

The Lifeline's own page for LGBTQ+ callers describes that support as delivered through the ordinary channels, "via call, text, and chat". It publishes no separate menu option, so there is no extra key to press.

Veterans Crisis Line, 988 then press 1

The Veterans Crisis Line is run by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and answered by its own responders. In its own words, it "serves Veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and those who support them." You do not have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use it.

The service adds one thing worth knowing before you dial: the call costs nothing, and you decide how much information to share.

Tel: 988, then press 1

Text: 838255

Chat: veteranscrisisline.net

Hours: "24/7, 365 days a year", in the service's own words, and confirmed on the Lifeline's own page.

Cost: free, per the same sentence.

Languages: not published on the pages we read.

Serving members stationed overseas are routed through separate Department of Defense numbers for each area of responsibility, published by the service itself, and can dial 988 on the base network.

Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741

Crisis Text Line answers by text rather than by voice. In its own words, it is "a global mental health organization dedicated to supporting people in their most difficult moments", focused on "both crisis intervention and prevention, providing free, 24/7, confidential support through a text-based platform that meets people where they are."

Texts are answered by trained volunteers: "A live, trained volunteer Crisis Counselor will receive your text and respond with care and compassion." The service takes texts "from anywhere in the United States".

Text: HOME to 741741

Text, in Spanish: HOLA to 741741

Chat: crisistextline.org

Hours: "24/7", in the organisation's own words.

Cost: "free", in the same sentence.

Languages: English and Spanish. "Simply text HOME or HOLA to 741741 to reach a live volunteer Crisis Counselor."

The organisation runs separate short codes for Canada and the United Kingdom, published on the same page. They are deliberately not carried here, because this is a United States page. Their absence is a choice and not an omission.

Boys Town National Hotline, 800-448-3000

The Boys Town National Hotline takes calls from children, teenagers and parents, and it answers at any hour. In its own words: "The Boys Town National Hotline is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is staffed by specially trained Boys Town counselors. It is accredited by the American Association of Suicidology (AAS). We take toll-free calls from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Territories and Canada."

Boys Town also answers calls for other services. It states that it "provide[s] unparalleled services to several national lines", and names 988 as one of them.

Tel: 800-448-3000

Text: VOICE to 20121

Email: hotline@boystown.org, which is the route Boys Town publishes for callers who are speech or hearing impaired

Hours: "open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year", in the organisation's own words.

Cost: "toll-free" for calls.

Languages: "Spanish-speaking counselors and translation services for more than 100 languages also are available 24 hours a day", in the organisation's own words. That is the most useful line on this entry for a reader who speaks neither English nor Spanish.

The Trevor Project, for LGBTQ+ young people

The Trevor Project is a crisis service for LGBTQ+ young people, reachable by phone, text or chat. In its own words: "If you are thinking about harming yourself — get immediate crisis support. Connect to a crisis counselor 24/7, 365 days a year, from anywhere in the U.S via text, chat, or phone."

On what the counsellors do: "Our trained counselors understand the challenges LGBTQ+ young people face and are available for support 24/7. They will listen without judgment. When you text, chat, or call, all of your conversations are confidential, and you can share as much or as little as you'd like."

Tel: 1-866-488-7386

Tel, TTY: 1-866-803-3699

Text: START to 678-678

Chat: thetrevorproject.org/get-help

Hours: "24/7/365", in the organisation's own words, on all three channels.

Cost: "100% free", in the same sentence.

Languages: not published on the page we read.

Trans Lifeline, weekday hours

Trans Lifeline is a peer support line, not a counselling service. In its own words: "Trans Lifeline's Hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers. Call us if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you're not in a crisis or if you're not sure you're trans."

The organisation publishes three commitments beside that. You will be "connected to a trans/nonbinary peer operator"; you have "full anonymity and confidentiality"; and there is "no nonconsensual active rescue (calling 911, emergency services, or law enforcement)". That last one is the reason some people call this line rather than another.

Tel, United States: (877) 565-8860

Tel, Canada: (877) 330-6366

Tel, in Spanish: press 2 on either number. In the organisation's own words, "Oprime 2 para hablar con alguien en español."

Hours: "Trans Lifeline's hotline operating hours are Monday through Friday: 10 AM – 6 PM Pacific / 11 AM – 7 PM Mountain / 12 PM – 8 PM Central / 1 PM – 9 PM Eastern", in the organisation's own words. The line is closed outside those hours, and the organisation publishes a list of scheduled holiday closures on the same page. If you need someone at another time, 988 above answers at any hour.

Cost: not published on the page we read.

Languages: English and Spanish.

Reported and not resolved: the closure list published today is headed with 2025 dates and no list for the current year appears on the page, so no closure dates are carried here. The same page says you may try texting while its own answers section says a text service is still being prepared, so no text channel is carried either.

Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990

The Disaster Distress Helpline is for emotional distress after a disaster, whether a wildfire, a hurricane, a flood or a mass casualty event. In SAMHSA's own words, it "is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters."

It is "staffed by trained counselors from a network of crisis call centers located across the United States", and it is for anyone in the country or its territories whose distress is related to a disaster.

Tel: 1-800-985-5990

Text: 1-800-985-5990

Tel, in Spanish: 1-800-985-5990, then press 2

Hours: "available 24/7", in the agency's own words.

Cost: "toll-free". Standard text and data rates apply to the text channel.

Languages: "multilingual", and Spanish is published explicitly. For Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL callers, the agency's instruction is: "Please text or call the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 using your preferred Relay provider."

NAMI HelpLine, information and support, weekday hours

The NAMI HelpLine is an information and support service run by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It is not a crisis line, and NAMI directs crisis contact to 988: "Connect to a trained mental health crisis counselor at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline anytime."

In its own words, it "is a free, confidential nationwide service that provides one-on-one emotional support, mental health information and resources needed to tackle tough challenges that you, your family or friends are facing." It runs specialty services for family and carers, for teenagers and young adults, and in Spanish.

Tel: 1-800-950-6264. NAMI prints the same number as 1-800-950-NAMI, the letters spelling its name on a telephone keypad.

Text: NAMI to 62640

Email: helpline@nami.org

Hours: "Available Monday Through Friday, 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM ET", in NAMI's own words, with the footnote "NAMI HelpLine is closed on all federal holidays". Outside those hours, 988 above answers at any hour.

Cost: "free", in NAMI's own words.

Languages: English and Spanish, on a separate Spanish HelpLine.

Teen Line, evening hours, answered by teenagers

Teen Line is answered by trained teenagers, under adult supervision. In its own words: "Teen Line provides free, confidential peer-to-peer support for youth. Teens in crisis can connect with trained teen counselors by phone, text, or email to talk about what they're going through."

On who answers: "Teen Line responses are handled by trained teen volunteers, referred to as 'Listeners.' Each Listener undergoes over 100 hours of training and works under the supervision of adult mental health professionals." The service is for young people up to age 19, and says plainly: "For those who are older than 19, we recommend calling or texting 988."

Tel: (800) 852-8336, from 6 PM to 10 PM Pacific time

Text: TEEN to 839863, from 6 PM to 9 PM Pacific time

Hours: the two channels close at different times, as printed above. In the service's own words, "Outside these hours, calls are directed to adult counselors at Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center."

Cost: "free", in the service's own words.

Languages: English only. The service states this itself.

Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center, Los Angeles

Didi Hirsch is a Los Angeles organisation, and it is on this page because it answers 988 calls as one centre in the national network. In its own words: "The Suicide Prevention Center is a trusted place to turn to in moments of crisis, and beyond. We're the nation's first suicide prevention center, delivering crisis care, therapy, and training for over 60 years." On its place in the network: "As a key partner in the 988 network, Didi Hirsch provides critical care to people in distress."

Its own crisis instruction is 988. In the organisation's words: "If you or someone you know is in a mental health or suicidal crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat via 988lifeline.org." Its therapy, support groups and enquiry lines are scoped to Los Angeles County and Orange County on its own referrals page, so this is a local service rather than a national one.

Tel, in a crisis: 988, the route Didi Hirsch publishes itself

Tel, to access Didi Hirsch services: (888) 807-7250

Tel, general inquiries: (310) 390-6612

Hours: the organisation publishes no hours for a crisis line of its own, because it routes crisis contact to 988. Its enquiry lines carry Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., on its referrals page.

Cost: not published for the enquiry lines.

Languages: the site offers Spanish, Korean, Russian, Cantonese, Farsi and Khmer, and publishes no language commitment for a particular line.

What changed here, and why. The previous version of this page printed a second Didi Hirsch number as a crisis line for California. The organisation publishes that number as its enquiry line for services and fees, and separately for suicide loss debriefings, and does not print it on its suicide prevention page at all. It has been removed as a crisis contact, and the organisation's own crisis route stands in its place.

While you are waiting to be answered

A line that is open can still be busy. Being asked to hold when you have finally made the call is hard, and it does not mean nobody is coming.

If you are waiting, try to stay with someone you trust, or ask someone to sit with you until the call connects.

If you have anything near you that you could use to harm yourself, put it somewhere harder to reach, or ask someone else to hold it for you. Distance and time both help.

If waiting is not possible, dial 911, or go to the emergency department of your nearest hospital. You do not need an appointment, you do not need to have made an attempt, and you do not need to explain yourself well.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly. Asking someone whether they are thinking of suicide does not put the idea there, and it often comes as a relief to be asked plainly.

Listen more than you advise. You do not need the right words, and you are not expected to fix anything.

If they are willing, offer to sit with them while they call one of the numbers above, or to make the call together. If they are in immediate danger, treat it as you would any medical emergency.

Supporting someone through this is heavy, and it is reasonable to want support of your own. 988 takes calls from people worried about someone else, not only from the person in crisis, and so does the Boys Town hotline if the person you are worried about is a child or a teenager.

For services in other countries, see the list of helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

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