When a mental-health or substance-use crisis strikes, Mainers no longer have to hunt for phone numbers. Two free, round-the-clock options—the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (answered in-state by the Maine Crisis Line) and the national Crisis Text Line—put professional or peer help a tap away. Here’s how each service really works, using the latest public data, and how ENSO Recovery fits into the picture.
988 in Maine: What to expect
Dialing, texting, or web-chatting 988 from a phone with a 207 area code sends you straight to trained counselors, usually at The Opportunity Alliance.
Calls start with a quick safety check (“Are you thinking of harming yourself or others?”) and then shift to calm, supportive conversation. If a caller needs in-person help, the counselor can dispatch a mobile crisis team. Last year these two-person teams went out 14,849 times; in 93 percent of cases they arrived within two hours and in 99 percent no hospital stay was needed.
Worried about police showing up? You can relax: nearly 98 percent of all 988 contacts nationwide are resolved on the phone without law-enforcement or EMS involvement.
Prefer texting? Meet the Crisis Text Line
If talking aloud isn’t possible—or just feels awkward—text HOME to 741741. In 2023 Mainers held about 4,000 text conversations with Crisis Text Line volunteers; 86 percent said the chat helped, and only 71 conversations (under 2 percent) required emergency services. Most texters also told CTL they shared something they had never said out loud before.
Median wait time is under five minutes, and messages are encrypted end-to-end. The service is free on every U.S. carrier.
Choosing the right number
- Thinking about suicide or worried you might act on an urge: Call or text 988 so a licensed clinician can safety-plan with you and, if needed, send a mobile crisis team instead of police.
- Overwhelmed but still feeling safe, or you can’t talk out loud: Text 741741 for quick, anonymous peer support.
- Medical emergency (overdose, serious injury): Call 911.
- Need to talk but it isn’t an immediate crisis: Maine’s Intentional Peer Support Warmline is at 866-771-9276.
Your privacy
Both 988 and CTL let you stay anonymous. Counselors only ask where you are if they believe someone’s life is in imminent danger. GPS data are not pulled automatically, and both organizations follow HIPAA-level privacy rules.
Other Maine resources worth saving
- Veterans: Dial 988, then press 1 or text 838255
- LGBTQ+ youth: The Trevor Project, 866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678
- Spanish speakers: Press 2 after dialing 988 for help en español
- Family support and local referrals: NAMI Maine HelpLine, 800-464-5767 (option 1)
How ENSO Recovery fits in
ENSO Recovery’s outpatient teams coordinate closely with 988, local hospitals, and mobile-crisis responders. Need longer-term help? Call 207-245-1800 to ask about medication-assisted treatment, therapy, or peer coaching.
The bottom line
- Help is three digits away: 988 for voice/chat, 741741 for text.
- Fast answers: Maine centers pick up almost every 988 call, and most text chats connect in minutes.
- Hospital and police are the exception, not the rule: Fewer than 2 percent of contacts trigger emergency dispatch.
- Mobile teams work: Nearly every in-person visit in 2023 avoided hospitalization.
- Save the numbers now so you—or someone you love—don’t have to think twice in a crisis.
