Answer:
All contacts with the 988 Lifeline from people seeking help are to be treated as confidential by the 988 Lifeline and 988 Lifeline network centers. This means that information about callers/chatters/texters will not be shared outside the 988 Lifeline without documented verbal or written consent from the person seeking help, except in cases where there is imminent risk of harm to self or someone else, or where otherwise required by law. It’s important to remember that confidential and anonymous are not synonymous. During your contact with the 988 Lifeline you may voluntarily share certain information about yourself that could be identified and that information may be documented in notes about your conversation. The center may also have access to the phone number or IP address you used to contact the 988 Lifeline. You will never be required to provide other identifying information to receive help from the 988 Lifeline. We rigorously protect all the confidential and identifying information shared with the 988 Lifeline. We may use de-identified and aggregated data for reports to stakeholders, funders, and policymakers about the numbers and types of conversations we have with people in crisis, and the general aggregate demographics of people seeking help from the 988 Lifeline.