A new three-digit suicide prevention hotline will launch nationally this week

This week, a new three-digit number will launch for those wanting to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The hotline’s current number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255), but starting Saturday those needing help can dial or text 988.

The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act was filed by Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado and enacted into law in 2020.

According to a news release, Heba Abdelaal, the 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Air Force Spouse of the Year, worked on the legislation alongside Garner.

The law required the Federal Communications Commission to designate 988 as the universal telephone number for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline.

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According to the act, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs “must jointly report on how to make the use of 9-8-8 operational and effective across the country.”

The law required the Federal Communications Commission to designate 988 as the universal telephone number for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is putting $105 million toward supporting states' local crisis call centers, according to a Department of Health and Human Service news release in December,

“Giving the states a tool to prevent suicide and support people in crisis is essential to our HHS mission of protecting the health and wellbeing of everyone in our nation,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the release. “We know that remembering a three-digit number beats a ten-digit number any day, particularly in times of crisis, and I encourage every state to rev up planning to implement 988 for the sake of saving lives.”

Officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced in April that the state was awarded $3.3 million to help transition the existing 10-digit Suicide Prevention lifeline to the three-digit 988 number.

State officials said the grant will be used to staff the call center with trained counselors.

According to a news release from the state agency last year, more than 1,300 people died by suicide in North Carolina in 2019, and more than 37,000 callers received crisis intervention and were connected to community mental health resources through North Carolina’s Call Center for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named suicide as a leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, with 45,979 suicide deaths reported.

A report released by the Department of Veterans of Affairs last year found that 6,261 veterans were among the 45,861 suicide deaths in the U.S. in 2019.

The VA estimated that in 2019, there were an average of 17 veteran suicide deaths per day.

Ashley Owings, Fort Bragg Spouse of the Year, said in an interview earlier this year that suicide awareness is one of her platforms.

Related: What Fort Bragg soldiers are saying about suicide

Read more: Fort Bragg Military Spouse of the Year advocates for mental health of military families

Owings, who served in the Army National Guard and Navy, said she saw a need for suicide prevention programs that Navy leadership told her weren’t needed.

“Unfortunately, we lost another service member before they changed their mind and allowed us to have the program,” she said.

Owings said once she left the military, she realized suicide prevention is just as important for military spouses and children who also struggle with suicidal thoughts, depression, postpartum depression or other mental health issues.

Owings said she’d like to see more people open up and have honest judgment-free conversations.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: National Suicide Prevention hotline to change number