“If you call the US suicide hotline… your location will be tracked immediately”

Technology is set to be introduced to roughly identify the location of callers calling the US suicide hotline 988 and direct them to the nearest local crisis center, the health and medical webzine ‘Health Day’ reported on the 25th (local time).

In an effort to prevent suicides from increasing, the United States operates the ‘988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’, which provides crisis counseling by phone, text, and online by dialing the three-digit number ‘988’ from anywhere in the United States. This number, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is linked to more than 200 local crisis centers across the country, has so far only been able to identify the caller’s area code.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that major mobile carriers now have technology that will connect 988 callers to local mental health services based on location, rather than area code. “The goal of 988 is to help people in mental health or substance use crisis have access to unconditional help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Miriam Delphine-Rittmon, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Connecting callers to local centers that can share information about services and resources in their communities can help improve the quality of care.”

Last week, Verizon and T-Mobile began rolling out “georouting,” a technology that determines the geographic location of callers to determine the optimal route for their calls. Once fully implemented, the change will affect about half of all wireless calls to 988 Lifeline. AT&T plans to start the process in the coming months.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote next month on rules that would require all wireless carriers to use georouting for 988 calls. If the new rules are finalized, nationwide carriers would have 30 days to adopt the technology, and smaller carriers would have two years to do so.

“During a crisis, every second counts, especially when people are seeking help for mental health needs,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Georouting means 988 responders can better connect callers to the help they need, where they need it.” According to data released by SAMHSA, 988 has received more than 10 million calls, texts, and chats in the two years since it launched.

The FCC’s new rules focus on georouting calls, not text messaging. Georouting is a technology that provides an approximate location of a caller, unlike geolocation, which provides the exact location of the caller. “No more unnecessary 988 calls and messages to crisis centers hundreds of miles away,” Rosenworcel said. “I’m thrilled that we can further enhance this life-saving resource.”