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New Mexico’s 988 is the confidential lifeline for emotional, mental, or alcohol and drug misuse support
anyone. any struggle. anytime.
anyone. any struggle. anytime.
988 is for anyone, anytime and for any emotional or alcohol or drug use reason. It is a free, confidential and easy-to-remember support helpline for emotional, mental, or drug and alcohol (substance misuse) concerns. People can also call, text or chat 988 if they are worried about a loved one.
988 calls, texts and chats are answered by compassionate people who are trained in appropriate and relatable distress response services to give you
the private support you need with empathy and discretion. They will listen, offer non-judgmental support no matter your issue and work with you to offer help, if you want it. 988 can open the door for all New Mexicans to seek mental well-being or alcohol or drug (substance use) help, while sending the message that healing, hope, and help are happening every day, for anyone and anytime.
988 is an important first, but not final step, in reimagining New Mexico’s behavioral health system to respond to anyone in need. HSD/BHSD believes New Mexicans deserve to have mental health within reach. It’s part of a larger initiative to build out a behavioral health system for people in distress to have “someone to call, someone to come to you and somewhere to go. Building the Crisis Now Continuum of Care is about meeting people where they’re at when they need it most. This transformation will take time and requires resources from federal, state, and local levels to prepare the mental wellness system to better meet these needs.
A behavioral health crisis needs a behavioral health response. 988 was established to improve access to emotional, mental or substance misuse support services in a way that meets New Mexico’s growing crisis behavioral health care needs. 988 provides easier access to related behavioral health support crisis resources, which are distinct from 911 (where the focus is on dispatching Emergency Medical Services, fire, and police as needed).
988 is available now in real-time for call, text, and chat. Spanish speakers are available.
Yes. 988 accepts calls, texts, and chats from anyone who needs support for a suicidal, mental health and/or substance use crisis.
When you call, text or chat 988 a trained behavioral health professional will answer. Many have a background in mental health or social work, but all are trained. They are there to listen non-judgmentally and help you process your feelings, think through your problem or situation and explore your options or what comes next and help figure out what you want to do, if anything. Currently, calls to 988 from New Mexico area codes are automatically routed to the New Mexico Crisis and Access Line.
Call
When calling 988, callers first hear a greeting message while their call is routed to the local network crisis center (based on the caller’s area code).
You will also be given three options. Press 1 to connect to the Veterans Crisis Line or Press 2 to connect with the Spanish network.
Trained behavioral health professional will answer the phone, listen to the caller, understand how their problem is affecting them, provide support, and share resources if needed. If the local crisis center is unable to take the call, the caller will be automatically routed to a national backup crisis center.
Text
People who text “TALK” to 988 are currently connected to crisis centers equipped to respond to texts. This service will expand over the next few years to increase local and state-level response. Once connected, a compassionate behavioral health professional will listen to you, work to understand how your problem is affecting you, provide support, and share resources that may be helpful. Texting is available in both English and Spanish.
Chat
Chat is available in both English and Spanish through the 988 Lifeline’s website at 988lifeline.org/chat. People seeking chat services are provided with a pre-chat survey before connecting with a trained crisis counselor, who identifies the main area of concern. If there is a wait to chat with a crisis counselor, a wait-time message will appear. If demand is high, people can access the 988 Lifeline’s “helpful resources” while waiting. Once you are connected, a compassionate behavioral health professional listens to you, works to understand how your problem is affecting you, provides support, and shares resources that may be helpful.
The 988 provides live call, text, and chat services in English and Spanish and uses Language Line Solutions to provide caller translation services in more than 240 additional languages.
988 has launched text and chat services in Spanish. To access, text AYUDA to 988 or chat online.
¡Los servicios de texto y chat de 988 Lifeline ya están disponibles en español!
Haga clic aquí para obtener información sobre cómo acceder a todos los servicios en español.
CONOCER MÁS
The 988 offers Spanish call, text, and chat services. To connect with a Spanish-speaking behavioral health professional, dial 988 and press 2.
988 offers an interpretation service in over 240 languages and dialects through the call option to 988, increasing accessibility to many people wishing to use 988. Interpreting services are available 24/7 and the average time to be connected to an interpreter is only 17 seconds. This service allows callers to comfortably connect with crisis counselors in their preferred language outside of English. Interpretation is only available through calling 988, it is not yet available for our text and chat service.
To connect with an interpreter, callers can dial 988 and ask for one in English if they are able, or they can simply say the name of the language they need to prompt the crisis counselor to get an interpreter on the line. Our interpreting service can also assist crisis counselors in identifying the needed language if the crisis counselor is unsure. Individuals requiring interpreting services may also have someone else who is more proficient in English coordinate an interpreter with their crisis counselor on their behalf.
Interpreters receive special training to provide effective interpretation over the telephone and follow a code of ethics that includes requirements related to confidentiality, accuracy, and impartiality.
Yes. Immigration status information is not collected or reported.
Callers who are Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, and Late-Deafened can directly dial 988 on a videophone or click the “ASL Now” button on 988lifeline.org to connect with trained crisis counselors who are trained in working with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
Yes. Specialized call, text, and chat supports are offered for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQI+) youth and young adults. The program aims to support people under the age of 25 who reach out to the 988 Lifeline and want the option of connecting with a counselor specifically focused on meeting the needs of LGBTQI+ youth and young adults. The specialized services are currently available by call, text, and chat services 24/7.
If you have an unsatisfactory experience with 988 in New Mexico, please email Contact988@hsd.nm.gov
On behalf of all colleagues at the Human Services Depatment, we humbly acknowledge we are on the unceded ancestral lands of the first peoples of what
today is known as the State of New Mexico, including its Pueblos, Tribes, and Nations past and present. With gratitude we pay our respects to these communities and their homeland.