Get help now
You don’t have to carry this alone tonight.
Free, confidential lines that answer right now, for a crisis, for a bad night, for a roof and a meal. Tap a number to call it.
Written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast. Every number below was checked against the service’s own website on . Our AI policy.
Scarlet Beast is not a crisis service and nobody watches this site in real time. Please don’t write to us in an emergency: use a number on this page. This page is a directory, not medical, legal or professional advice. This page loads no analytics.
Talk to someone, any hour
You don’t have to be suicidal to call 988. It is also for emotional distress, a substance use crisis, or fear for someone else. A trained crisis counselor answers and listens.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Anyone, about anything that feels like a crisis. Spanish available. 24/7.
988lifeline.orgCrisis Text Line
A trained volunteer crisis counselor, by text. 24/7.
crisistextline.orgVeterans Crisis Line
Dial 988, then press 1 · text 838255
Veterans, service members, and the people who love them. 24/7.
veteranscrisisline.netThe Trevor Project
1-866-488-7386 · text START to 678-678
LGBTQ+ young people. 24/7.
thetrevorproject.orgTrans Lifeline
Peer support run by and for trans people. Check the site for current hours.
translifeline.orgNational Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233 · text START to 88788
If home is not safe. 24/7. The Leave quickly button on this page jumps to a weather site.
thehotline.orgRAINN Sexual Assault Hotline
Survivors of sexual violence, and those supporting them. 24/7.
rainn.orgChildhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
Children, parents, and anyone worried about a child.
childhelphotline.orgPoison Control
Something was swallowed, inhaled or taken by mistake, or too much of it. If the person is unconscious or can’t breathe, call 911.
poison.orgDisaster Distress Helpline
After a disaster, a shooting, or any event that knocked the ground out from under you.
samhsa.gov
Deaf or hard of hearing? 988 answers by videophone in ASL, by text and by chat, and you can reach it through your relay service. How to reach 988 in ASL.
Not a crisis, but not okay
For finding a therapist, a program, or just someone who knows the system.
NAMI HelpLine
1-800-950-6264 · text NAMI to 62640
Information, resources and support for people living with mental illness and their families. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET.
nami.orgSAMHSA National Helpline
Free referrals to treatment for mental health and substance use, in English and Spanish. 24/7.
samhsa.govFindTreatment.gov
The federal government’s map of licensed treatment facilities, filterable by payment, including free and sliding-scale care.
findtreatment.gov
Food and a roof tonight
New York City: 311
From any phone in the five boroughs. Ask for shelter intake, homeless outreach, food or benefits.
portal.311.nyc.govAnywhere else in the US: 211
Connects you to local help with housing, food, utilities and more.
211.orgKONG New York: food & shelter
Our borough-by-borough list of free pantries, soup kitchens, mobile markets and the lines that answer at three in the morning.
scarletbeast.com
If you’re worried about someone
The 988 Lifeline’s #BeThe1To campaign gives five steps. You don’t need training to do any of them.
- Ask. Ask directly whether they are thinking about suicide. Asking does not put the idea in their head.
- Be there. In person or on the phone. Listen more than you talk.
- Help keep them safe. Put time and distance between them and anything they could use to hurt themselves.
- Help them connect. Call or text 988 together, or help them reach someone they trust.
- Follow up. A message the next day tells them they still matter to someone.
If they are in immediate danger, call 911 and stay with them.
Plan ahead, while you’re well
Psychiatric Advance Directive builder
Write down, in advance, how you want to be treated in a mental-health crisis: medications, hospitals, who speaks for you. Free, for every US state and D.C. It runs in your browser and your answers never leave your device. Prints a directive shaped to your state’s law, plus a wallet card.
Somewhere to belong
Join Now: different minds build a brighter tomorrow
Scarlet Beast’s open door for neurodivergent people and people with records. Loneliness is its own emergency. If the crisis has passed and you want something to build, start here.
A pocket card
Print this, fold it, keep it in a wallet or on the fridge, or hand it to someone. Your phone may be dead or gone when you need it most.
If you need help right now
- 911
- Emergency, danger right now
- 988
- Call or text: Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24/7
- 741741
- Text HOME: Crisis Text Line
- 1-800-799-7233
- Domestic Violence Hotline
- 1-800-222-1222
- Poison Control
- 311 / 211
- Shelter, food, local help (311 in NYC)
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