Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Will Americans in 2022 be able to dial 988 to reach the suicide prevention hotline?
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
By Jacqueline Agustin
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YES
By July 16, 2022, Americans will be able to dial 988 to seek advice and counsel from the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Congress voted in 2018 to ask the Federal Communications Center to look into creating an easy-to-remember number for the crisis-counseling service, currently reachable on 800-273-8255. The FCC is expected to formally approve the measure at a July 16 meeting. The hotline is operated by a national network of over 150 local crisis centers.
The change comes following a rise in the suicide rate to 14.2 per 100,000 individuals in 2018 from 11.75 in 2009.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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