Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant) led the effort crafting a coalition letter supporting the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) proposed role on georouting. The letter garnered the full support of the Mental Health Liaison Group, a coalition of leading national organizations in mental health, substance use, health, and social services working to strengthen access to mental and behavioral health care. 

In April 2024, the FCC proposed a rule on georouting solutions for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988 Lifeline). Georouting would mandate wireless carriers to enable the routing of calls based on the geographic location of a cell phone rather than the current practice of relying on the cell phone's area code. By establishing a mandate, carriers would ensure that callers are routed by location rather than their area code, enabling better access to critical local crisis counselors and resources. 

As the country continues to face an unprecedented mental health crisis, expeditious access to the crisis interventions and emotional support the 988 Lifeline provides is critical. Mandating georouting will allow individuals to connect with localized counselors and services from the Lifeline network of over 200 crisis contact centers. The 988 Lifeline is an accessible entry point for individuals seeking crisis support and bridges the broader crisis care continuum. Georouting will ensure that callers receive timely access to a crisis call counselor who is familiar with their community’s unique stressors, which can establish a rapport more quickly. Moreover, having a call based on an individual’s physical location will enable crisis contact centers to easily link with local mobile crisis response services and crisis receiving and stabilization centers, if necessary. 

​Since the 988 Lifeline transition to the current three-digit number in July 2022, crisis contact centers nationwide have seen significant increases in demand. The proposed georouting mandate would ensure callers receive localized support while ensuring caller privacy and confidentiality, as georouting does not use the caller’s precise location information. The proposed mandate will improve access to the twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week 988 Lifeline, while fostering equity for populations across the United States. 

Click here to view the letter.