988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

If you or someone you know is in a mental health, suicide, or substance use crisis, help is available.
Reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988,or the 988 Lifeline Chat.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency or safety emergency requiring law enforcement, EMS, or fire, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

What are Crisis Services?

Like a health crisis, a mental health, alcohol, or drug crisis can be hard for the person experiencing it. It is also hard on their loved ones and their community. In the moment, the person may feel overwhelmed or unable to cope with what is happening. Some crises include safety concerns for the person or those around them.

Crisis Services are for anyone, anywhere and anytime. They are the first line of care in helping people in crisis or emotional distress and preventing tragedies. DMH strives to use the best tools and practices to meet the needs of people in crisis. The goal is to help each person work through the crisis. This can be done in different types of settings. Missouri follows national best practices to provide crisis services in three ways:

• Someone to talk to: 988 crisis specialists accept all calls, texts, and chats. They help with the immediate need and can connect people to resources for ongoing help;
• Someone to respond: If help from 988 is not enough, mobile crisis response staff can meet the person where they are in the community and provide in-person help;
• Somewhere to go: If a person needs more help than mobile crisis response can provide, they can go to a crisis center. Crisis centers provide more intense help for up to 23 hours and can usually help the person not need to be hospitalized.

Someone to Talk To:

988 – The three-digit number for anyone going through a mental health, suicide, alcohol, drug or other kind of emotional distress. The goal of 988 is to connect people to a crisis specialist 24/7 through call, text or chat. DMH is working with seven 988 Lifeline centers to handle all 988 contacts that come from Missouri. Together, the seven centers cover each county in Missouri, including the City of St. Louis.

How Does It Work?

When someone in crisis calls, texts, or chats, 988, they will be connected to a crisis specialist who is trained and prepared to deliver crisis support in the moment. Because a crisis is defined by the individual or family experiencing it, the crisis specialist will work with the person to understand and address their needs and concerns. The crisis specialist will also work with them to connect to ongoing resources and supports if needed.  Calls are routed based on the closest cell tower to the caller’s location.  The exact location of the caller is not shared with 988.