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The phone list: who to call, on one page
The guides on this site each lead with a number or two: who to call when the power is about to be shut off, when a parent is getting lost, when a tax letter comes, when you cannot go on. This page puts 45 of those lines in one place. Tap one to call or text. Narrow the list with a word. Or print it and keep it by the phone, for a day when there is no signal and no time to search.
Type a word or two, like rent, veteran, taxes or baby. Nothing you type here is kept or sent. Two pages or so, in black and white, without the explanations.
In danger, or can’t go on: any hour
911
Danger right now. Someone is hurt, or about to be.
More: Get help now
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Anyone, about anything that feels like a crisis. 24/7, free, confidential. You don’t have to be suicidal to call 988.
More: Get help now
Crisis Text Line
A trained volunteer crisis counselor, by text. 24/7.
More: Get help now
Veterans Crisis Line
Dial 988, then press 1Text 838255
Veterans, service members, and the people who love them. 24/7.
More: Get help now
Poison Control (Poison Help)
Something was swallowed, inhaled or taken by mistake, or too much of it. Free, 24/7. If the person is unconscious or can’t breathe, call 911.
More: Get help now
Never Use Alone
Stays on the line while you use and sends help if you stop responding. 24/7, US.
Disaster Distress Helpline
After a disaster, a shooting, or any event that knocked the ground out from under you. Any hour.
More: Get help now
When someone is hurting you, or a child
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233Text START to 88788
If home is not safe. 24/7.
More: Get help now
National Sexual Assault Hotline
800-656-4673Text HOPE to 64673
To talk to someone trained for this, at any hour. RAINN, which runs it, says it is anonymous.
More: After sexual assault
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
Children, parents, and anyone worried about a child.
More: Get help now
Lines for particular people
The Trevor Project
1-866-488-7386Text START to 678-678
LGBTQ+ young people. 24/7.
More: Get help now
Trans Lifeline
Peer support run by and for trans people. Check the site for current hours.
More: Get help now
National Maternal Mental Health Hotline
Pregnant, or with a new baby, and not feeling like yourself. Any hour. Free and confidential.
Teens and young adults with nowhere to stay
The guide lists this number for teens and young adults who need a place to sleep. It answers any hour.
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans
A veteran with nowhere to sleep tonight, or about to lose your place. Any hour. Free and confidential.
Vet Center call center
For a veteran who wants to talk with someone who served. Any hour.
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
After a death, when the person who died served in the military. Answers at any hour.
Mental health, alcohol, drugs, gambling, eating
NAMI HelpLine
1-800-950-6264Text 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 says it is not a crisis line.
More: Get help now
SAMHSA National Helpline
Free referrals to treatment for mental health and substance use, in English and Spanish. 24/7.
More: Get help now
1-800-QUIT-NOW
Quitting smoking or vaping: free coaching from your state’s quitline.
More: Ride out an urge
National Problem Gambling Helpline (1-800-MY-RESET)
Run by the National Council on Problem Gambling. It says: call, text and chat, 24/7/365, confidential, and no payment or insurance information is required. It says it is not a crisis line.
Gam-Anon hotline
For the families and friends of someone who gambles.
National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline
Answered by licensed therapists. Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern. Free.
ANAD helpline
An eating disorder helpline answered by trained volunteers. Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Central. Free.
Food, a roof, the bills
211: local help near you
Connects you to local help with housing, food, utilities and more.
More: Get help now
311, in New York City
From any phone in the five boroughs. Ask for shelter intake, homeless outreach, food or benefits.
More: Get help now
USDA National Hunger Hotline
Ask for food pantries and free meals near you. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.
More: When you need food
National Energy Assistance Referral
Power or gas about to be shut off? The guide says to call this number, and to call the company today.
More: When the money runs out
HUD’s housing counseling program
The CFPB says there are local experts who can help for free or at a low cost, and that to reach one you can contact this program.
More: Letters to your landlord
HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
HUD takes housing discrimination complaints, including a wrongful denial of a reasonable accommodation. HUD takes relay calls for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers.
Health, and caring for someone
Alzheimer’s Association Helpline
A dementia question, at any hour. The Alzheimer’s Association says its free Helpline is answered day and night.
Eldercare Locator
One number for help near you: meals, rides, help at home, your Area Agency on Aging. A public service of the U.S. Administration for Community Living.
More: Help as you get older
Stroke Family Warmline
A question about life after a stroke, not an emergency. Run by the American Stroke Association, a private organisation. 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday.
Epilepsy & Seizures Helpline
1-800-332-1000In Spanish: 1-866-748-8008
A question about epilepsy, not an emergency.
No Surprises Help Desk
A surprise bill after an emergency room visit. Run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Seven days a week.
HealthCare.gov Marketplace
HealthCare.gov says you can enroll in a Marketplace plan within 60 days of losing job-based coverage.
Benefits, work, taxes, papers
Social Security
1-800-772-1213TTY 1-800-325-0778
Ready to apply, or to ask. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
1-800-669-4000TTY 1-800-669-6820ASL video phone 1-844-234-5122
If you think it was discrimination at work. The guide says the EEOC is free, and you do not need a lawyer to file.
More: Fair chance job kit
Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
Free and confidential advice on accommodation ideas and the ADA, for workers and employers, from a service supported by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Eastern, Monday–Friday.
Department of Labor toll-free line
Questions about a job loss or layoff.
IRS: find a free tax help site
Before you pay anyone to do your taxes, ask whether there is a free site near you. This is the IRS number for finding one.
IRS
You owe and can’t pay: the IRS has payment plans, and it can delay collection if paying would keep you from meeting basic living expenses. Monday to Friday.
State Department: a lost or stolen passport
Passport lost or stolen? Report it to the State Department.
More: When your ID is gone
Identity theft
Think someone is using your name or your numbers? Report it at IdentityTheft.gov or call.
More: When your ID is gone
National Elder Fraud Hotline
For fraud against anyone 60 or older. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.
More: Help as you get older
No line on this page matches those words. Try one word, press Show all, or search the whole site.
Good to know
Where these numbers come from
- Every line here is copied from a guide on this site, and says which one. The guide names the organisation’s own page it was read on. This page checked nothing new.
- A program compares this page with the guides each time it is built. If a number or its hours change on a guide, this page cannot be built until it matches.
- The crisis lines on Get help now were checked against each service’s own website on September 29, 2026. The other guides were read on other days.
- Numbers and hours change. If a line here does not answer, the service’s own website is the place to look, and we would like to know: [email protected].
What this page is not
- It does not have all the numbers in the guides. Each guide has more, for narrower questions.
- It is for the United States. Outside it, these numbers will not work.
- It has no local numbers, except 311 for New York City. For food and shelter in New York City, borough by borough, see the KONG New York list. Anywhere else, 211 is the way to local help.
- Scarlet Beast is not a crisis service and answers none of these lines. Nobody watches this site in real time.
Ways to keep it
- Print it with the button at the top, and put it where you would look: the fridge, a wallet, a glove box.
- Use offline saves pages of this site on your device, so they open with no signal.
- Emergency card makes a wallet card with your own contacts and conditions.
- Call script helps you write down what to say before you dial, and Paper trail is a place to note who you spoke to.
Pages that go with this
- Get help now: the crisis lines, with more about each one.
- First aid: what to do while you wait for help.
- All the free tools and guides, and search.
- Pass it on: any page as a code to show or a slip to print.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). It was checked by programs, not yet used by people, and nobody here has dialed these numbers for this page. It runs no analytics or tracking (privacy). Also in Spanish: La lista de teléfonos.