NPR

FCC Approves Plan For 3-Digit Suicide Prevention Number Similar To 911

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously OK'd the proposal, which would allow callers in crisis to reach a national mental health support network simply by dialing 988.
The Federal Communications Commission announced Thursday that it was putting forward a proposal to designate 988 as a "suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline."

It's a lesson you learn as early as grade school: If you find yourself injured, threatened or otherwise in harm's way, just break out your phone and dial a simple, three-digit number: 911. After more than five decades, the 911 emergency call system has become so memorable and ubiquitously known, it even has its own network TV adaptation.

But what if the danger is rooted less

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