The Federal Communications Fee has decided to look into letting individuals textual content the upcoming shortened Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline quantity in a bid to extend accessibility and use of the service by those that want it most (via Politico reporter John Hendel). Final Could, the FCC accepted the creation of a brand new quick code, 988, that may act as an easier-to-remember telephone quantity for the lifeline.
Please notice that calling 988 won’t join you to the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline till July sixteenth, 2022.
It’s price noting that at the moment’s approval is only a first step and doesn’t imply that individuals will, for certain, be capable of textual content the 988 quantity when it goes dwell in July 2022. Nevertheless, it does imply that the FCC shall be trying into making it a requirement for telephone suppliers, and it is going to be accepting public touch upon whether or not texting must be allowed. Based on its assertion, the FCC would additionally like public touch upon the implementation particulars earlier than it begins drawing up precise guidelines, like what sorts of issues individuals ought to be capable of textual content the lifeline, what occurs if a message bounces again, and many others.
To supply a remark, you may go to the FCC’s specific remark web page. The continuing is 18-336.
Whereas with the ability to contact the lifeline by way of telephone or SMS with an simply memorable quantity is undoubtedly a superb factor, it’s additionally price noting that the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline additionally has a chat characteristic on its web site. The present hotline added the power to simply accept textual content messages at 1-800-273-8255 in August 2020, however 988 is a better quantity to recollect, particularly throughout occasions of disaster.
The proposal so as to add texting help to 988 wasn’t the one motion the FCC took at the moment to attempt to enhance public security. It additionally introduced that it will be trying into growing the reliability of the 911 emergency companies community.
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