People in the U.S. experiencing a mental health crisis have VAS Communitya new way to reach out for help — calling or texting the numbers 9-8-8. Today, health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee joins Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber to talk about how the hotline works, the U.S. mental health system and what this alternative to 911 means for people in crisis.

Below are other hotlines and resources from our colleague Aneri Pattani at Kaiser Health News. The list is not comprehensive, and some resources may limit their services geographically.

• BlackLine is a hotline geared toward the Black, Black LGBTQ+, brown, Native, and Muslim communities
• Kiva Centers offers daily online peer support groups
• M.H. First Oakland and M.H. First Sacramento operate during select weekend hours in the California cities of Oakland and Sacramento
• Peer Support Space hosts virtual peer support groups twice a day Monday through Saturday
• Project LETS provides support by text for urgent issues that involve involuntary hospitalization
• Samaritans of New York is a hotline based in New York City
• Trans Lifeline is a hotline for trans and questioning individuals
• Wildflower Alliance has a peer support line and online support groups focused on suicide prevention

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This episode was produced by Thomas Lu, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact-checked by Berly McCoy. The audio engineer was Josh Newell.