Staring Saturday, July 16, D.C. residents experiencing a mental health crisis can call 988, the new nationwide hotline for suicide prevention.

Dialing the three-digit number will connect residents with a trained counselor at a local crisis center, 24/7. In a press release announcing the 988 number — which will replace the old National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255) — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the director of D.C.’s Department of Behavioral Health Barbara J. Bazron said that the new number will also aid in the city’s plan to divert mental health calls away from 911 and avoid involving police.

D.C. will also continue to operate its own 24-hour mental health hotline at 1-888-793-4357, for any individual in a crisis.

The national hotline, operated since 2005 by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the nonprofit Vibrant Emotional Health, works with a network of roughly 200 local call centers across the U.S.  When calls come into the line, they’re directed based on area code to one of the local centers. If no one is available, that calls is forwarded to a national center.

The changing of the number to something more memorable (and similar to 911) is largely expected to increase call volume — but it’s not clear if centers are prepared for an influx. A recent report from the Wall Street Journal found that between 2016 and 2021, roughly one in six calls to the line ended before a caller was connected with a counselor.

D.C.’s budget for fiscal year 2022 included $5.1 million to add 14 new staff members to the city’s mental health hotline call center, and 27 new members to D.C.’s Community Response Team, a branch of DBH that engages with adults experiencing mental health, substance use, or psychiatric crises. According to Phyllis Jones, a spokesperson for D.C.’s Department of Behavioral Health, the city currently has 13 staffers for the call center, with eight more being onboarded in the coming week. The department is also recruiting an additional six, to handle a potential increase in callers after the number changes. According to Jones, though, the city hasn’t had an issue with capacity; it currently reports a 91% answer-call rate.

The old number, 800-273-TALK (8255), will still work after Saturday, and will direct callers to the same 988 line. There is also a live chat function.