Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health has launched a “988” hotline for people experiencing a mental health crisis and are in need of immediate help. The hotline, which also offers assistance to the loved ones of individuals experiencing a crisis, opens Saturday.
Those who are in need of immediate help can dial or text the 988 number.
The Mental Health Department has prepared for this launch for over a year.
“We are excited for the nationwide rollout of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number, which will make it easier for people experiencing or affected by mental health crises to get immediate life-saving help to support their safety and well-being,” said Lisa Wong, acting director of the department. “A key component of this new service is the availability of trained psychiatric mobile crisis response teams who can be connected to through the 988 line when necessary.”
The hotline will be run by trained operators who will determine the appropriate services, such as suicide counseling and mental health de-escalation counseling. Mobile crisis teams will be dispatched when appropriate and law enforcement will be dispatched when safety is of concern.
For more information, visit dmh.lacounty.gov.
