WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It's now easier to connect with life-saving help. If you or a loved one are having a mental health crisis, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Vibrant Emotional Health is a non-profit organization that runs the new three-digit number, which operates nationwide.
The hotline is under the supervision and funding of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the 988 number is open for calls and text messages and will connect you with trained mental health professionals.
"I think having this be the first experience somebody will have with the mental health field, I think can really help people stick with treatment and not be totally turned off by it," said Dr. Christopher Rienas, the medical director of inpatient psychiatry at HCA Florida JFK North Hospital.
In the United States, 4% of adults report having suicidal thoughts each year.
Dialing 1 after 988 will connect you with the veterans' crisis line.
