Easy-to-Remember 3-Digit Number Provides Access to Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Services Nationwide
Commio now supports 988 as the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline per FCC guidelines.
What is 988?
Having a toll-free hotline to seek help with suicidal thoughts is often the last resort. Timing is critical as callers can often be on the verge of harming themselves. Any delay in reaching help could result in needless deaths. For others who are only thinking about suicide, the hotline provides valuable, free counseling that has proven to be successful in halting the progression of suicidal thoughts into action. A simpler 988 number shortens the amount of time a caller can connect with a trained professional.
What 988 Means for You
According to the FCC’s Report and Order, the FCC is requiring “all telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers to implement 988 by transmitting calls initiated by an end user dialing 988 to the current toll-free access number for Lifeline… We also require one-way VoIP providers to implement 988.” Once all carriers and providers program the network switches, it will be much easier and faster to route 988 calls to a single, national crisis number, ensuring callers receive the same level of service and fast response without the risk of misdirected calls.
Criteria for Commio to Route 988 Calls
You may need to adjust your dial plan to support 988 in order to comply with FCC rules to establish 988 as the nationwide 3-digit dialing code for Americans in crisis. 988 traffic should be routed to the Commio network using the same SBCs as 911 SBCs. Full technical details can be found in our knowledgebase.
