Montana to accommodate new National Suicide Prevention line

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana and 36 other states have announced they will update their phone numbers to accommodate the new National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is expected to work nationwide the same way the 911 emergency number does.

The change to the 988 crisis number means all residents in Montana must now use a 406 area code for all phone calls, local and long distance, The Billings Gazette reported. The three-digit crisis number is also the same three-digit number that many people with a Dillion, Montana prefix have.

The Montana Public Service Commission said Friday that everyone should start using the 406 area code for all Montana calls beginning April 24, 2021. Any calls made without the area code will not be connected starting Oct. 24, 2021.

Commission employee Tina Shorten said people will have to manually add or change numbers in their phones to the 406 area code and said she does not know of a more effective way of doing it.

Callers from anywhere in the U.S. would be connected with nearby suicide prevention assistance when calling 988 starting July 2022. The number will replace the current 1-800-273-8255 number to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The change is expected to cost the states about $1 million a year to make it functional, said Matt Kuntz, who directs the Montana branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The alliance is working with Montana Democratic Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell to get a funding bill through the Legislature. Rep. Greg Gianforte introduced the bill last year and it was passed by Congress on March 20.

The bill "authorizes states to collect a fee limited to supporting local crisis call centers within the national network or enhancements of such services."