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Image of the Veterans Crisis Line, Dial 988, and Text to 832255 for help

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and it’s anchored by two prominent dates: 988 Day on Tuesday, September 8, and World Suicide Prevention Day on Thursday, September 10. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) theme for 988 Day 2026 is “988 Reasons: Your reason is reason enough,” a reminder that a person does not have to be in crisis to reach out.

Knowing that 988 is available to people in crisis only helps if the number is remembered or visible when someone needs it. This month, when suicide prevention and recovery awareness are most visible, is reminder that you can help to ensure that 988 appears where Veterans and their families actually spend time.

Get the Word Out With Free Materials

SAMHSA distributes 988 print materials at no cost (and free shipping as well) through the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) ordering portal. You can order at https://orders.gpo.gov/SAMHSA988/Pubs.aspx .

You’ll receive your items in two to three weeks and then you can help to raise awareness of 988 by putting magnets in shared staff spaces, window clings on your door, and many other ways. If you don’t have a place to put materials, you can download sharing-ready digital assets for social media or print-ready materials from the SAMHSA 988 Day page.

Stickers, magnets, and window clings work best in high-traffic, high-dwell spaces:

  • Veterans Service Organization (VSO) post entryways and bar areas
  • County Office of Veterans Affairs and human services waiting rooms
  • Primary care, pharmacy, and behavioral health reception windows
  • Fire hall, ambulance bay, and police station entrances
  • School front offices, libraries, community centers, and church doors
  • Barber shops, gun shops, and sporting goods retailers

Veterans Dial 988, Then Press 1

Anyone can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Veterans have access to a second step that changes who answers.

  • Call: Dial 988, then press 1
  • Text: send a message to 838255
  • Chat: VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat
  • TTY: Use your preferred relay service, or dial 711 then 988

All calls to 988 are answered by trained crisis counselors, and Veterans have the option to press 1 after dialing. Pressing 1 after dialing 988 routes those calls to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) responder trained in both crisis counseling and military culture. The Veterans Crisis Line serves all Veterans, and that includes Service Members, National Guard, Reserve members, and the people who support them. Enrollment in VA benefits or VA health care is not required, and neither is a particular discharge status. The caller decides how much information to share.

That last point is important enough to repeat because it’s a reason some Veterans hesitate: you are not asked to prove eligibility.

You Can Help More By Getting Trained to Save a Life

Materials get someone who needs help to someone who can help. You and anyone in your community can get free training that tells your staff and volunteers what to do if they encounter someone thinking about suicide. The Northwest Pennsylvania Veteran Suicide Prevention Program (NW PA VSPP) offers trainings with continuing education (CE) credit across its 19-county service area. We offer the following training courses online in virtual sessions:

  • Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), held on 988 Day
  • Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM)
  • Suicide Prevention: Links to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Care
  • Integrating Trauma Informed Care into Suicide Response (ITIC)

Click here to register for an upcoming training, or visit the training link on the menu above.

Funded by the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Division of Injury Prevention.