988 Calls Will Now Be Routed by Location Instead of Area Code

Calls to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will soon be routed to call centers based on the caller’s geographic location — a process known as “georouting” — rather than their area code, HHS announced.

“The launch of 988 georouting marks a significant leap forward in our nation’s crisis response system,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday in a press release. “With georouting in place, callers will be connected to 988 crisis contact centers closer to where they are, which will help us to more quickly connect people to local services and resources when they need additional on the ground support.”

Georouting connects cell phone callers to the closest 988 contact center to the caller’s physical location. However, “georouting differs from geolocation in that it does not provide a precise location of the caller, allowing callers to maintain their location privacy,” the press release noted.

In a related development, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday that at its upcoming October 17 meeting, the FCC will vote on final rules to codify georouting. Those rules will require all U.S. wireless carriers to begin georouting calls to the lifeline by 30 days after the rule’s effective date; smaller, non-nationwide providers will have 24 months to do so.

“In times of crisis, every minute matters — especially when seeking help for yourself or a loved one in need of mental health support. There’s a real benefit to connecting with resources available in your own backyard and speaking with those within your own community,” Rosenworcel said in the press release. “Georouting means those responding to 988 calls have a lot more knowledge of local resources at their fingertips and are better equipped to get the caller the help they need, where they need it. Through our vote next month, the FCC is committed to making sure that everyone can connect to these local resources.”

T-Mobile is one of the affected national carriers, and it enabled georouting last week. “Around 80% of calls to the 988 lifeline are done through wireless phones, and many people have phone numbers with different area codes from where they live, work, or visit,” Ulf Ewaldsson, president of technology at T-Mobile, said in an email to MedPage Today. “Georouting ensures that those seeking help will reach the available crisis center nearest their location for support. It’s about making sure help is there when and where it’s needed most.”

The 988 lifeline connects cell phone callers to one of more than 200 call centers nationwide. Since 988’s launch in July 2022, trained counselors have answered more than 10 million calls, texts, and chats from people looking for help with suicidal thoughts and mental health and substance use-related crises, according to HHS. The Biden administration has spent almost $1.5 billion to strengthen the service, the agency noted.

On the heels of the georouting announcement, the CDC reported Thursday that the U.S. suicide rate remained about the same in 2023 as it had in 2022, with just over 49,300 suicide deaths reported last year compared with a little less than 49,500 the year before.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call or text 988 or go to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline website.

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