FCC Suggests 988 As New Suicide Prevention Hotline

News Puppet · 08-18-2019, 07:09 PM

Quote:WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Communications Commission staffers recommended the agency designate “988” as a new phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in place of the current 10-digit number, the FCC said on Thursday.

The current phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. The 10-digit number received over 2 million calls in 2018, the FCC said.

A division of the FCC sent a report to Congress on Wednesday recommending the change to a shorter number because it “would likely make it easier for Americans in crisis to access potentially life-saving resources.”

LZA · 08-18-2019, 08:55 PM

That's an idea that makes sense. A number you don't need to remember in case it's needed...

wildcard · 08-18-2019, 09:41 PM

(08-18-2019, 08:55 PM)LZA Wrote: A number you don't need to remember

Ummm...you still need to remember it. Tongue

Seriously though, not a bad idea. Is it bad that I am wracking my brain for a pun... Angel

sporkium · 08-19-2019, 08:29 PM

the fcc's expertise at making people wish for their own demise in unrivaled.

the 988 number is probably just for quality assurance purposes.