Suicide Prevention Hotline in Boston, MA

Free, Confidential Crisis and Depression Support for the City, Around the Clock

The Boston suicide prevention hotline answers 24/7 at (866) 629-4564 for anyone in the city facing suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, or PTSD. A trained crisis counselor listens any hour and helps you find the next step. For Massachusetts crisis services, call or text 988 or the Behavioral Health Help Line, and in immediate danger call 911.

A Boston Line for the Hardest Moments

This Boston suicide prevention hotline serves people across the city at (866) 629-4564, around the clock, free and confidential. A trained crisis counselor answers to listen, talk through whatever has brought you to the edge, and help you find the next step. Boston has a deep local crisis network too: the statewide Samaritans helpline, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line, and mobile crisis teams that come to you. People reach out from Dorchester after a sleepless night, from a Back Bay apartment, and from a college dorm in Allston worried about a roommate. You do not have to be at the edge to call, and you never have to give your name.

Which Number to Reach First in Boston

Match the number to the moment. For immediate physical danger, call 911. For a mental health crisis that is not immediately life-threatening, call or text 988, or reach the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line at 833-773-2445, which can send a mobile crisis team anywhere in the city. The Samaritans statewide helpline at 877-870-4673 offers a listening ear day or night. A trained crisis counselor at (866) 629-4564 can stay with you and help you weigh these options. Whichever you choose, the person on the line can help you build a short safety plan.

Holding On Through the Next Ten Minutes

When the feelings peak, a few small steps can carry you until you reach someone in Boston who can help. Move away from anything you could use to harm yourself, and get to a room where another person is close by, or step outside toward a neighbor or a nearby shop. Pick up the phone and call or text 988, or dial (866) 629-4564, so a trained voice is with you while the wave passes. Slow your breathing, and hold on to one small reason to make it to the next hour. The intensity of a crisis almost always eases, and reaching a person is what buys you the time for it to.

Signs It Is Time to Reach Out in Boston

The moment to make contact is early, before a hard stretch closes in. In yourself, the pull is often quiet: sleep that stops restoring you, a flatness where interest used to live, or the thought of being gone starting to feel like relief. In a Boston friend or relative, the signals tend to show outwardly, in talk of being a burden or feeling trapped, a retreat from the people and places they loved, the handing off of things that clearly matter, or a sudden lean on alcohol or drugs. Noticing even one of them is reason enough to pick up the phone, to (866) 629-4564 or 988.

Mobile Crisis Teams That Come to You in Boston

Some moments call for in-person help, and Boston has a dedicated mobile crisis team for exactly that. The Boston Emergency Services Team (BEST) answers 24/7 at 800-981-4357 and dispatches clinicians to meet you at home or in the community across Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop. You can also reach a team through the Behavioral Health Help Line at 833-773-2445 or the statewide Mobile Crisis Intervention line at 877-382-1609. These teams handle assessment and stabilization on the spot, an alternative to an emergency room or a police call, and can connect to Boston Medical Center for follow-up care.

Boston Crisis Numbers and Local Help

The contacts below serve Boston and Massachusetts directly, and most answer around the clock. Each is a real service you can reach right now.

Specialized and Multilingual Crisis Lines

Boston has crisis lines built for specific needs and languages, so you can reach someone who understands your situation. For support in Spanish, call or text 988 and press 2, or use the chat at masshelpline.com, where real-time interpretation covers more than 200 languages. People who are Deaf or hard of hearing can reach 988 by videophone through ASL Now, or use Mass Relay. LGBTQ young people can contact The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386, by text to 678-678, or by chat, and trans callers can reach Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. For domestic or dating violence, SafeLink, the statewide hotline, answers at 877-785-2020 in English and Spanish. You do not have to be in crisis to call any of these; reaching out early is always allowed.

Finding Depression Help Across Boston

Beyond the immediate call, a trained crisis counselor can help you find ongoing depression help in Boston. Many people phone (866) 629-4564 not in a peak crisis but because a low stretch has stopped lifting, and the counselor talks through what continued care might look like, from an outpatient therapist to a community program or a peer support group. Boston has real depth here, from teaching-hospital depression centers to neighborhood clinics, and the Behavioral Health Help Line keeps a current directory of free and community mental health services across the city. Asking for help while a low stretch still feels manageable is often what keeps it from deepening into something harder to climb out of.

Serving Every Boston Neighborhood

This line reaches all of Boston and the communities around it. Within Suffolk County that includes Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Back Bay, Charlestown, South Boston, East Boston, Allston, Brighton, and neighboring Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. Across the Charles River it reaches Cambridge and Somerville in Middlesex County, and nearby Brookline and Quincy in Norfolk County. Wherever you are, the path is the same: call (866) 629-4564 to talk now, or dial 988 or 833-773-2445 to reach a Massachusetts crisis counselor and, if you need one, a mobile team.