988 hotline's launch is linked to thousands of fewer suicide deaths
among teens and young adults
[April 23, 2026]
By DEVI SHASTRI
Nearly 4,400 fewer U.S. teens and young adults died by suicide than
projected in the first two-and-a-half years of the 988 mental health
crisis hotline, a sign the program is working even as it faces long-term
funding challenges.
Suicide deaths among 15- to 23-year-olds were 11% lower than what
researchers expected between July 2022 — when the lifeline launched —
and December 2024, researchers wrote in a study published Wednesday in
JAMA.
“The 988 program is one of the largest federal investments in suicide
prevention in U.S. history — roughly $1.5 billion cumulative — and our
findings suggest that investment has translated into measurable
reductions in young adult suicide deaths,” said Dr. Vishal Patel, a
clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School and the paper's lead author.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or
someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in
the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
___
The researchers used nationwide death certificate records from 1999 to
2022 to model what the suicide mortality would have been had the 988
line not launched. They then compared the estimates to the actual number
of deaths.
The researchers can't say for certain that 988 was the sole cause of the
decline, and the U.S. suicide rate is down overall. But they ran several
other comparisons to “gut check” their overall findings, Patel said.
They found the 10 states that had the largest increases in call volumes
following the launch of 988 also saw significantly larger gaps in
expected vs. actual suicide deaths. The reductions were also greater in
younger people than people older than 65, who are less likely to use the
lifeline. And they saw no similar changes when looking at suicide deaths
in England, where no comparable lifeline existed during the study
period.
The results are in line with previous research.
“Studies show that after speaking with a trained crisis counselor, most
people who contact the 988 Lifeline are significantly more likely to
feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed and more hopeful,”
a spokesperson for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, which funds the hotline, said in response to the study.
Research results 'very heartening,' expert says
Jill Harkavy-Friedman, who leads the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention's research program and was not involved in the study, said
the results were “very heartening and very positive." She wants to see
more research replicating the results, but she said the authors did a
“great deal of work” to weed out other possible factors for the decline.
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 The entire mental health system is
key to lowering suicide rates, Harkavy-Friedman said. 988's power to
navigate that system, helping callers make safety plans, connecting
them to local crisis intervention teams and referring people to
longer-term care, has led to “extraordinary” impact, she said. And
simply having someone to call in a moment of crisis can also be
lifesaving.
“That is the strength of the crisis line," Harkavy-Friedman
said. "When you call, it de-escalates the crisis so the person has
greater capacity to address whatever it is that's driving their
emotions at the moment."
Experts say the overall patchwork of federal and state funding for
call centers remains insufficient to meet the true level of need.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s federal budget request
maintains stable 988 funding at $534.6 million for fiscal year 2027,
in anticipation of 11 million contacts next year.
The hotline “is not a panacea for preventing suicide death,” but the
number of lives it has saved "is a really big deal and underscores
the need for sustained investment in 988 from federal, and
especially state, lawmakers,” said Jonathan Purtle, a New York
University mental health policy researcher.
Specialized line for LGBTQ+ youth
In a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin pressed
Kennedy to follow through on a “legal requirement” to restore 988's
specialized line for LGBTQ+ youth. The administration abruptly cut
the program last summer, despite evidence that the population faces
disproportionately high suicide rates.
“Yes, we are working on getting it up now,” Kennedy told the
Wisconsin Democrat. Spokespeople for the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration and the Department of Health and
Human Services did not immediately provide The Associated Press with
any timeline or details of that restoration.
Patel said the specialized services for high-risk groups — including
the LGBTQ+ line — are part of what makes the program work.
“Our findings should be read as evidence that this is a program
worth preserving and expanding, not one to scale back,” he said.
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